


Lost and Found Again

by Night_Time_Daydreams



Series: Lost and Found Again [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: (he doesn’t show up for a while sorryyyy), Angel!Virgil, Demon!Patton, Hurt/Comfort, I changed the name bc I didn’t like it, If there’s anything that needs to be tagged it’ll be in the tags at the beginning of the chapter, Kinda, M/M, Mentions of Death, Multi, PREVIOUSLY “LOST TIME FOUND AGAIN”, Parental!Thomas, Please don’t be afraid to comment, even if I don’t get to it very quickly, fae!Logan, i love reading and responding, mentions of remus, mentions of unspecific discrimination, witch!Roman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 34,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24932269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_Time_Daydreams/pseuds/Night_Time_Daydreams
Summary: A witch knows many things. A witch knows how magic feels, how it flows through his veins, how he can use it not for himself, but to help the ones he cares about. A witch knows how people are jealous by nature. A witch knows how jealousy and hatred can drive a small village to horrible things. A witch knows how it feels to see his only family ripped away from him by something beyond their control. A witch knows how it feels to be alone, except for his magic and a spark of hope that refuses to die.But the thing about magic, the kind that will never abandon you no matter what, is that it doesn’t let you abandon it either.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Thomas Sanders, LAMP - Relationship, Pre-LAMP
Series: Lost and Found Again [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1804423
Comments: 237
Kudos: 157





	1. Prologue: The setup

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I know I said this would be out almost a week ago, but honestly, I'm lucky to be getting it out this /month/ lol. 
> 
> Anyways, the story does have a clear plot, I promise, and I've got about thirty chapters written already, but I'm not entirely sure how many I'll be putting into this particular work. I make no promises as to when they'll be posted, but I promise that they actually do exist. 
> 
> This is basically the prologue, but I'll be posting more soon, so look out for that~!
> 
> EDIT: I’m editing allll of this, so be prepareddddd

When Roman had started searching for a place to do his work, he hadn't expected to find a place so close to home. The tall trees that parted into an almost perfectly circular, perfectly /green/ clearing seemed almost too perfect to ignore, so he started setting up then and there. 

Enough standing around. Roman set down the last of the boxes and looked around once more at his supplies. 

He had everything that he'd need to summon all the supernatural creatures he could ever want. 

For the demon, he had chalk, a small knife, a costco-worthy bucket of salt (you could never be too prepared), and a few various herbs. For the angel, he had rosaries, holy water, a bible, and a few pages of handwritten prayers. For the fae…well, Roman wasn't entirely sure what he'd need, so he'd gathered mainly magic-centric items. He had a pile of herbs, a mound of crystals, some blood, silver, some charms, and a random pallet of eyeshadow, among other things. He hoped that the will behind the summoning would count the most. 

Roman blew warm air into his hands, the clearing not entirely a good temperature for being out in nothing but a short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a light jacket. 

"Alright," He muttered to himself, "Let's get to work."


	2. Ch 1: Summoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman actually summons his supernatural beings, and is stupid, idiotic, and stupidly idiotic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: in my files, this story is titled “Himbos Supreme” cause honestly it /fits/.
> 
> Edit: I realized I copy-and-pasted from my in-progress draft and not my /final/ draft, whoopsies. I fixed it (mostly just changing "Moral" to "Morality" lol).

Finally, everything was ready. It was sunset, the sky a beautiful mix of colors, and the three summoning circles had been completed to Roman's satisfaction, a bright lantern set in the middle of them all. 

So he set about trying to summon the three supernatural beings. 

He said a mix of prayers and chants, pulling from all his research to try his best to summon one of each of the races. 

Roman really hoped that he wouldn't accidentally start the apocalypse somehow. 

Finally, Roman felt confident enough to cease his attempt, deciding to simply wait and see. 

It seemed like something was happening, at last. The sky was steadily darkening, but it seemed to be doing so much faster than normal. There was also an odd electric feeling to the air. 

Suddenly, three things happened all at the same time. 

A pillar of smoke appeared in the first circle, a ray of light in the second, and a bright whirlwind in the third. 

Roman's jaw dropped. He might've fallen back or scrambled away from the intense show of power if he felt like he could still move his body. 

Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the supernatural instances vanished. 

In their places were three of the most stunning beings that Roman had ever seen. 

The first, in the place of the black smoke, could only be described as adorable. Blond curls framed a round, freckled face with rounded glasses. Teeth shone out of a wide grin that seemed too wide to be anything but genuine. The only indication that this being was not human was the blood-red eyes. No pupils or irises, just the same red throughout the entire eye. Those same eyes were gazing curiously around the clearing, darting from branch to branch, leaf to leaf. 

The second, standing in where the blinding light had been, was beautiful in a rough, untouched way. Black, shaggy hair fell into a sharp face, eyes staring unblinkingly at their surroundings. This being's hands were shoved deep into the pocket of their black...hoodie? Like the first, there was only one indicator that this beauty was /other/, and that was the wings. Big, bright, beautiful wings were extended fully, all three pairs of them. One pair was pure white, one gray, and one as black as the aforementioned hoodie. As Roman watched, they were retracted slightly, as if to take up less space. 

The third and final being was not looking at their new surroundings, but stared piercingly at Roman. The slightly too-long proportions and high cheekbones gave this one an ethereal beauty. Unlike the others, there was no identifiable feature to this one, but nonetheless, it was undoubtable. This person was not human. 

After a few moments, the blond and the dark figure both turned their own gazes to Roman. Roman finally picked his jaw up and spoke, "Greetings to you all…" Roman tried desperately not to get distracted by the allure of the Others, determined to not make a fool of himself, "My name is Roman Kingsley, he/him, it is wonderful to meet you all." 

The other three glanced at one another before the ethereal one finally spoke. 

Roman's knees went weak at the beautiful voice. "Salutations…Roman. You may call me Logic. Also he/him." 

Next was the red-eyed cutie. "Hiya! I'm Morality! He/him today!" 

The final one took a moment to seemingly gather himself before also speaking, "Anxiety. He/him."

Logic hadn't even turned to acknowledge the others, continuing to stare at Roman. "Roman." Roman's attention was immediately ensnared by the fae. Logic's electric blue eyes were glowing slightly, and, for the first time, Roman was filled with a sense of unease. At the same time, however, Roman's muscles couldn't help but relax. Roman knew that it had to have something to due with Logic tapping into his considerable power. The fae in question continued, "You summoned us. You knew what exactly we were. Why would you freely give your name to a fae, a demon, and an angel, of all things? You have to know the amount of power that names hold. /Answer me, Roman/." 

Roman could feel the /need/ to answer deep in his gut, but the smile on his face - along with his eagerness - was unbidden. Judging from Logic's slightly surprised face, he knew that as well. "I figured that the best way to build a relationship is with trust, and what would using a fake name do to foster that?" 

Logic, Morality, and Anxiety seemed to be taken aback by Roman's response. 

Suddenly, after a moment of quiet, Anxiety shook his head, snarling. "You absolute idiot! You've obviously done your research. You know how powerful each one of us is." Anxiety seemed to grow taller, wings growing to their full width. "With the power of a freely given name, each one of us could /break/ you. Why would you risk something like that?" 

Roman stared in awe, "Sweet Julie Andrews, you're beautiful." Anxiety stared with incredulity at Roman, who realized that he had, in fact, spoken aloud. "I-I, uhh, I just meant that, uh--" Roman vaguely registered Morality giggling adorably and Logic sighing. The human blushed and blurted out, "I heard the stories of supernatural beings having more beauty than any human…and I'm also /very/ lonely." 

Morality’s giggles became full-blown laughter. Even Anxiety snorted a laugh, "You absolute /fucking/ himbo." 

Roman was certain that his face was as red as his jacket. "I don’t see you turning me down, Emo and Stitch." 

Anxiety shrugged, allowing his wings to rise gently. His lazy grin most definitely did /not/ turn Roman on even further. "You said something about us being more beautiful than humans…" Anxiety stalked forward, ending up nose to nose with Roman, "But you're not so bad yourself, hotshot." 

Roman could've died that instant and have been happy. 

"Oh, c'mon V--Anxiety!" These three definitely already knew one another, somehow. The dynamic in this group was too familiar for them to have not. "Stop teasing him." As Anxiety backed away, Morality came closer. "Even if you are right, that doesn't give you the right to just get all up in his space…unless he asks nicely, of course." 

Roman stared for a moment before nodding vigorously, "Oh it's /absolutely/ fine by me." 

Morality laughed outright then, delicately reaching up a small (clawed?) hand and running it along Roman's chin. "So, /Roman/…I have a question." There was the odd sense of electricity in the air again, and Roman knew that, like Logic had, Morality was tapping into his power. "Why did you summon us?" 

There was less of a /need/ this time, and more of a intense hunger. Roman /wanted/ to answer Morality. "I wanted to meet an angel, a demon, and a fae." 

Morality laughed, now gently running a hand along Roman’s hairline, brushing aside strands with almost practiced ease. 

No one commented on how hungrily Roman leaned into the touch (they all knew that wasn't a part of the enchantment). 

"No, no, no, darling," Morality purred, "I know that. I know you were lonely. I know you wanted to meet us. What I want to know is /why/. Why were you so lonely? Surely you have family, friends to spend time with." 

Roman's mind went blank but for Morality. 

Words tumbled out of Roman's mouth, not entirely by his volition. "They don't like me for me. They want me to be something for them. They want me to do something for them. They want me to change who I am so they don't have to change their minds about what I should be. They don't want me. They don't want what I am. They don't want who I am. They only want what I can do for them." 

Morality's round face turned sad. Why was he sad? He shouldn't be sad. Roman didn't want him to be sad. "Oh, honey," Morality whispered, stepping away from Roman, who almost toppled over trying to follow. 

Roman shook himself, feeling the traces of the magic fleeing from him. That…was definitely different. Roman ran a hand through his hair, staring with wide eyes at Morality. "That--" He cleared his throat, "That was…intense…and incredible…." More surprised looks. Roman forged forwards, "You know, if you have other questions, I'd be glad to answer them. You don't have to use up any more of your power enchanting me or forcing me to answer. I'm the one who summoned you all anyways." 

"Yeah, about that," This was Anxiety, hunched over and still able to stare down at Roman. "I still don't quite understand. I mean, obviously you're kinda a misfit, like us, so that at least fits your story, but…I don't know, summoning all-powerful beings for…what? A hook-up? A gift? Superpowers? What?"

Roman started, disbelieving, "Is that why you think I summoned you? For a cheesy hook-up?" Roman scoffed. He was disgusted by the implications. "I'm not here for a magical dick or-or superspeed!" Roman clenched his fists, determinedly glaring in a direction opposite of the others. "Yeah, maybe some part of me might want that, but I really just wanted some friends! If that grows into something more, so be it! I don’t—" Roman cut himself off, reigning in his temper before he could say something he’d surely regret. 

There was only silence in the clearing. 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was the worry over everything that had been going on lately. Whatever the reasons for his flawed thinking, Roman should have known better. He should have known better than to think that this would actually work the way he had planned. 

"They were right. Everyone said I was insane for wanting to do this, but I didn't pay them much attention because it's not really that far off from what they usually say about me. But they were right! This was just some stupid, idiotic, half-thought-out plan made on a childish whim!" Roman grimaced and turned away from the others. "This was a waste of time. Just…just go. Go away. Leave me alone." Roman completely missed the fearful look shared between the three supernatural creatures. 

“Shit, Roman, wait! We d—“ Anxiety was cut off by the noise of rushing wind from behind Roman, and when he turned around again, Logic, Morality, and Anxiety were gone. 

The only things left in their places were three small, glowing stones. 

Roman closed his eyes, trying his best to hold back tears. 

He sank to his knees and failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it!!!!


	3. Ch 2: Their Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Others return, trying their best to find Roman again. They didn't expect to see him so soon, though, and definitely not like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe the happiness in this chapter will give me a boost in serotonin lol.

Roman didn't know how long he'd been kneeling there, sobbing his heart out, when he heard more wind blowing through the trees. 

“I hate that we had to spend so much time getting back here!” Was…was that Morality? What was he doing back in the forest? "We weren’t able to be there for him when he obviously needed us…." 

"This may have been a good thing, you know. You saw how upset he was, Patton. If we had stayed we could have only caused him more anguish." That had to be Logic. But…Patton? Was that Morality's true name? Shit…this wasn't how Roman wanted to find out. “He could’ve just needed sometime to cool off, metaphorically speaking.” 

"I understand the concept there, Logan, but you know you’re just lying to yourself to make us all feel better about this shitty situation.” Anxiety was speaking now, so Logan…Logan must be Logic. "I mean, come on, he probably thinks we abandoned him! I know we didn't have a choice but, honestly, that's what I'd think!"

Roman finally uncovered his face and looked up, stumbling to his feet. He stood, staring, as Mor--Patton, Logan, and Anxiety made their way through the tree line. 

They were looking much more human-like than they had before. Patton had beautiful bright blue eyes now. Anxiety no longer had wings and his outfit had changed slightly from all-black to a base of purple. Logan was shorter now, no longer quite so stretched out, but he still retained the sense of beauty that Roman had first noted. In fact, they all did. 

Everyone simply stared at each other. 

Roman bit back more tears. He had thought he had done a vaguely good job at hiding it, but Virgil was in front of him in a flash. "Hey, Ro, it's okay." Virgil opened his arms slightly, "You look like you could use a hug right about now, yeah?" 

Roman broke again. He launched himself at Virgil, allowing the slighter of the two to wrap him in his arms. Roman cried. He clutched at the back of Virgil's soft hoodie, allowing all the emotions that he had been trying to hold back to flow from him. Virgil barely moved, only shifting to wrap his arms more securely around Roman or to brace the back of Roman's head. 

Roman could practically feel himself filling with warmth and calm, the feelings spreading from where he was in contact with Anxiety. He distantly thought that the angel must be using some of his power, but he honestly was more focused on the comforting weight of Anxiety's arms around him. 

“Oh, you thought we’d left you all alone, didn’t you? No, we would never do that. We came back as soon as we could. You told us to leave, so we had to, but we came back as soon as we possibly could.” Anxiety gently guided Roman to sit on the ground, reaching over a hand and scooping up the colored stones. He pressed them into Roman's hand, "That's why we left these. They're called Beacon-stones. They've got lots of cool little features, but the best part is that, if you hold them, and one of us activates one…" There was a pause as Virgil ran his thumb over the curve of a stone he had pulled from his pocket. The purple stone that Roman held in his hand began to warm and glow. 

Roman's breath hitched in his throat. God, it had been /so long/ since he had held one of these - oh, now Anxiety was pressing another stone into Roman's hand. It was a deep, deep ruby red, with the swirls as brightly-colored gold as the sun itself. Roman knew it was meant to be his almost immediately. "It might take you a little while to get a hang of the magic, but it’s pretty simple, so you should be okay." 

Roman smiled down at the stones in his hand, then up at the three supernatural beings in front of him. "Thank you!" Roman was crying, but still managed to choke out his words, "Thank you so much! I-I can't tell you all--" Roman broke off again, pressing a hand against his mouth. 

Anxiety drew him into another hug, but this time, Patton and Logan joined in as well. Roman continued to cry, happiness mixing with the loneliness and despair that had taken hold of him and coming out in the form of his tears. 

Roman looked down at the stones in his hands once again. He closed his fist and focused as hard as he possibly could. He focused on all the happiness and love that he was feeling at that moment, coming from Patton, Logan, and Anxiety, and channeled it into the stone. It had taken him years to get it right the first time, but he'd had many years to practice it since. Roman imagined the feelings spreading from stone to stone until they were all blanketed in his emotions. 

Judging from gasps from Anxiety and Patton, it worked fairly well. 

Logan, though he was clutching his Beacon-Stones with a ferocity unmatched, didn't seem fazed by the actual use of the magic needed. "You've worked with magic before, Roman." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. "That's how you knew to summon us. That's why you weren't surprised when we used our powers. You've seen this before." 

Roman looked Logan in the eyes, straightening his back and setting his jaw. "I'm a born-witch with magic in my blood. Just like my mother, father, and grandparents before me. Just like my brother Remus. That's…that's the reason the townspeople ran us out of our home." Roman looked back down at his hands, one of which was entwined with Patton's. This would be hard, but…the others deserved to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!!! :D
> 
> Also go watch Hamilton, it's friggin amazing


	4. Ch 3: His story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman finally tells his story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you may have noticed the number of chapters in this changing from 4 to 8, and that’s because I decided to combine the first two books of this series into one. The story’s still the same, you’ll just get more of it in this particular setting. 
> 
> Another important thing:
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: (yes there’s multiple. What, you thought Ro had a happy backstory? Lol nope) 
> 
> -mentions of burning at the stake  
> -mentions of being drowned  
> -trapped in a burning house   
> -typical anti-witch sentiments from about the 1600s (which I neither condone nor practice)  
> -magic?  
> -mentions of someone being terminally ill (not much  
> -severe fluff at the end 
> 
> I know that’s a bit much, but I couldn’t just let one of my favorite characters be happy for once :) 
> 
> You might have noticed that updates here are sporadic at best, but I’m going to try and actually get on a schedule for once? If all goes according to plan (which I HIGHLY doubt it will), I’ll be updating about twice a week, once on Saturdays, once on Wednesdays. Hopefully actually having some sort of structure will help lol
> 
> Anyways, I’ve gone on for too long here. Enjoy the (back)story!

Roman continued the story - his story, "I was the best at magic of all of my siblings. The townspeople knew that. They knew that our family was the best in the town, and I was the best of them all. They started to get jealous, and when they found out I was creating my own spells, seemingly at random, they got scared. The stories have always said that humans fear what they don't understand, and what they fear, they seek to destroy. They…they tied my mother to the stake and burned her alive. I wasn't quick enough to cover my brother's eyes. Then they took my father and drowned him in the river. They said that if he survived six minutes underwater, he was innocent. According to them, he was guilty." 

Roman took a deep breath, struggling to contain his composure. "Roman…you don't have to continue. This is obviously hurting you, reliving this." Patton squeezed Roman's hand as he spoke, comforting him in whatever way he could. 

Roman shook his head, doing his best to smile over at the obviously-worried Patton. "It's okay, Patton…I'll be okay. I-I need to talk about this. And…I feel like you guys are willing to listen." Roman could feel Logan gently rub his shoulder, and he leaned into the touch. 

"The townspeople herded me and Remus into our house and locked us in. We could hear them shouting and jeering. I tried to break down the back door while Remus kept lookout. He saw them piling up wood and straw and dousing them with oil before setting them on fire. The house burned around us, and I could only gather him close. I thought about being somewhere - /anywhere/ - else and I felt my magic…flare? No, no…explode outwards. It was like we were being sucked into a whirlwind, and I lost my hold on my brother. The world was a blur of colors and sounds, and it was too much. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in the middle of a forest all alone." 

Roman took another deep breath. "Thomas Sanders - my second father, basically - found me and took care of me. He taught me everything I know now about surviving out here. He was a nomad. A traveling tradesman. He gave one-man shows and performances to get money for us. And he did really well. All the people wherever we went knew him and looked forward to his shows. He's the reason why I love performing. I was able to add my magic to his tales, showing great dragons of red flames battling golden sparks in the shape of knights. No one was scared of my power anymore. Instead they reveled in it.

"Then, Thomas got sick. Luckily, we had saved up a lot of our earnings and we were able to buy a little cottage at the edge of a big village. It's out of the way, but it serves our needs well enough. I just get worried about Thomas. There isn't a doctor in the town that can tell what's wrong with him. I…I don't think he's going to get better. That's one of the reasons I came here. I wanted…I wanted friends to…help me through this. I don't think I'd be able to do it all on my own." 

There was silence. 

Then, Anxiety cupped Roman’s cheek. His words were soft, but the tone was steely. "Roman, you will never be alone ever again. Not if we have anything to say about it." 

Roman laughed, incredulous and ecstatic, "You're going to make me cry again!" He paused to dramatically wipe a not-entirely-fake tear from his eye. "Thank you, Anxiety." 

Virgil squeezed Roman's hand. "My name is Virgil." 

Roman leaned against the angel, "Thank you…Virgil." 

Virgil, Logan, Patton. 

An angel, a fae, and a demon. 

And they were all here for /him/. 

That was…insane. Unbelievable. Incomprehensible. 

And a fact. 

Roman almost couldn't believe it. 

Roman laughed again, wiping away the tears falling down his cheeks. He felt the others surround him, all holding him and whispering gentle reassurances. He wrapped his arms as far around them in return as he could manage. 

He'd be alright. 

They all would be alright. 

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! See you Tuesday!


	5. Ch 4: One Week Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About a week after Roman summoned the others, he comes back to what he's come to see as "their" clearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday, everyone! 
> 
> You may have noticed that this chapter will make 5/?. I changed the number of chapters going to be in this because, honestly, I have no idea how many are actually going to be in this part of the story. I've still got a whole bunch written and ready to post, but idk if they're gonna be in this story, or in the next part of the series. 
> 
> Also, TW/CW: more Roman angst, crying, mentions of throwing up, mentions of coughing up blood, mentions of a terminal illness
> 
> I think that's it? Lol, enjoy!

Roman approached the clearing, noticeably downtrodden compared to all the other times he had returned in the past week. He had shown up there nearly every day, sometimes for only a few minutes, others for hours. Every time Roman found the clearing, Logan, Virgil, and Patton were already there, and he left before them every day as well. They had all grown closer, Roman thought, and despite the rather obvious flirting between everyone, nothing had truly been said, or set. 

At this point, it had been exactly eight days since Roman had summoned his supernatural beings, with them all growing closer by the day, and yet he couldn't help but feel like just laying down on the ground and sobbing. 

He knew, before he even entered the clearing, that Virgil could sense his fallen mood. 

"Roman!" He heard, "Ro, what's wrong?" 

Roman sprinted the last few meters into the clearing, arms already reaching for Virgil. 

The human and the angel slammed into one another, Roman's arms winding around Virgil's waist and clutching at his baggy hoodie. Virgil's left arm found its way around Roman's shoulders and the other carded into his hair. "Oh, Roman, what happened?" 

Roman simply burrowed his face further into Virgil's shoulder. He mumbled out some sort of a response, he barely even knew what, and squeezed his eyes tightly, still trying desperately not to cry. 

Virgil guided Roman down to the ground and simply held him, saying nothing. His none-too-gentle grip on Roman's shoulders said it all. 

Roman registered Patton's gentle arms and Logan's thinner ones join Virgil's in comforting him. 

A single sob escaped, and he was suddenly crying harder than he ever had before in his life. He had been holding in so much fear and pain that his chest was /aching/ with the force of letting it all out. 

Roman didn't know how long they had all sat there, him crying and the others comforting him. Quite honestly, he didn't really care, either. He was glad he'd calmed down, though. He shifted slightly, slowly releasing the fabric of Virgil's hoodie from his clenched fists. The others released him just as slowly, allowing him to gather himself before actually speaking. 

"Roman?" Patton laid his hand on Roman's back, "Ro, what's happened? What's wrong?" 

Roman winced, scrubbing at his eyes just a bit. "I…I'm sorry." He sniffled a little before starting again, "Thomas got a lot worse. The doctors still don't know what's wrong with him, but he's throwing up and I think he's coughing up blood too and I don't know what to /do/ and…and…" Roman struggled not to break down again, holding a deep breath and pressing his knuckles against his closed eyes. 

The others had converged once again, lending their support in whatever way they could offer. 

Logan shifted slightly, then spoke, "Roman, you said that you have a house with Thomas? Would I be correct in thinking that it's near here?" 

Roman nodded, still hiding his face. "Yeah. It's not far.”

Virgil spoke next. "Would…would you be opposed to taking us there? I…I think we can help." 

Roman stared with wide eyes, hardly daring to hope. He stood clumsily, yanking the others to their feet, "Please. Please--please try. Please try to help him. Please." 

Patton gently turned Roman to face him, hands cradling his face, "We'll absolutely try. We'd do anything for you, Roman." Roman nearly burst right back into tears then, but just managed to regain his composure. 

"Roman," Logan gained his attention, "We're ready when you are. Lead on." 

Roman nodded, still speechless, and grabbed Logan's hand, tugging him towards the tree-line. 

He led them all along the well-worn path home, passing the stream, then the gardens, then the old fallen-in bench. Hang a left after the honeysuckles and a right after the berry bushes…and there's home. 

It truly wasn't all that much, but it was enough for the two of them. There was a nice porch with twin rocking chairs, a wide oak door, and a cheery woven welcome mat. The house was fairly small, one story with only a few rooms, but there was enough space for them both to have separate bedrooms and a nice kitchen, as well as a room that had been fondly dubbed the "Recreation Room" for the many books and puzzles scattered about. 

Roman sighed at the sight of it, subconsciously quickening his pace and tugging Logan along to get inside. "He may be weak," Roman began, fumbling to unlock the heavy oak door quickly, "But he's still a handful." He managed to yank the door open and stumbled through, "Thomas! Thomas I'm back! I brought them this time, too!" 

The actual interior of the house was about as cozy as the others had been led to believe. There were rugs and chairs scattered about the rooms and the house had a distinct lived-in feel. 

Roman led the others through the first of the rooms and to a gaily painted door quickly, nearly running through the halls. He knocked gently on the door before pushing it open and stepping through. "Thomas? Are you still awake?" 

A man with light brown hair and kind but tired eyes looked up at Roman from his bed. "Ro! Hey, buddy, welcome home!" Thomas' voice was slightly strained, and Roman instinctively looked to the large bucket.

There was more in the bucket than when Roman had left. 

Thomas smiled thinly and lifted his hands shakily towards Roman. Roman approached, leaning over and squeezing Thomas in a hug. 

When they detached, Thomas gave Roman a teasing grin. "Your friends are here, huh? Are they vampires?" Thomas snickered at Roman's confused look, "They haven't come in yet." He raised his voice very slightly, obviously speaking to his mystery guests, "Come on in! I promise that whatever Roman's told you about me is wildly overstated. The bodies under the floorboards don't even smell anymore!" 

Roman gently smacked Thomas on the arm as the others pushed open the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!! See you all Saturday!


	6. Ch 5: Helping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman’s Immortals do their best to heal Thomas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s Saturdayyy! Which means another chapterrrr, ahhhhhhh!!!! 
> 
> I say this so friggin much, but seriously, /thank you/, all of you, for reading, leaving kudos, whatever. It seriously means the world to me. 
> 
> Anyways, enough sappy shite. There are (kinda) TWs for this chapter: mentions of coughing up blood, passing out?, slight panic
> 
> I think that’s it? Lol, anyways, enjoy!!!

Patton was the first to bounce into the room, as Roman had expected, Virgil and Logan following at a more sedate pace. 

"Hello!" 

"Salutations."

"'Sup." 

Thomas could only stare. Roman wondered for a moment as to why Thomas seemed so surprised, but after a moment he blinked and smiled blindingly, so Roman put it out of his mind, chalking it up to his illness. "What's up everybody?" Thomas said. "I'm Thomas, but you can call me your adoptive-father-in-law." 

This time, Roman's smack was audible. 

Thomas laughed again, "Roman!" Thomas coughed into his hand, sending Roman's attack to a screeching halt. The coughing went on for at least a minute before Thomas could finally suck in a breath, smiling shakily at the others in the room. "Sorry 'bout that." 

Roman sat on the edge of the bed, clutching slightly desperately at Thomas' hand, turning it and gently wiping at the small spatter of blood there. He looked up and smiled. "It's okay, Thomas…." He appeared to mentally shake himself. "Anyways, these are…these are the ones I told you about…they said they might be able to help you." 

Patton waved, making his way over to the side of Thomas' bed and taking Roman's other hand. "I'm Patton! These are Logan and Virgil." The fae and the angel gave the older man their greetings. "I'm sorry, sir, and this may be a bit forward of me, but…" Patton reached out a hesitant hand towards Thomas' still-pale face, "May I?" 

Thomas' eyes flickered to the others, coming back and staring piercingly at Patton, "Well, if Ro trusts you…you have my blessing." 

Patton gave a reassuring smile and pressed his hand against Thomas' forehead, closing his eyes. At Thomas' following gasp, Roman looked over to Virgil and Logan questioningly, growing increasingly concerned at Thomas' tightening grip. 

Virgil gave a thumbs up, though his quickly tapping foot did not escape Roman's notice, and Logan smiled. 

Roman relaxed slightly. If Logan was able to smile, even a little bit, things couldn't be so bad. 

Patton exhaled slowly and opened his now-glowing eyes. He retracted both his hands and flexed his fingers, his eyes slowly returning to their baby-blue. 

Thomas stared, wide-eyed. "Well, that was different." 

Patton looked up from his hands, dark expression brightening in a split-second. "Well, as a demon, I can find anything wrong with your body." 

Virgil stepped out of his corner before Thomas could even begin to respond and rested a hand on Patton's shoulder, murmuring to him for a moment. Roman couldn't hear their conversation in full, but he did hear something about Patton getting some rest and being ready. 

"Hold on, Virgil, are…are you doing what I think you're doing?" Roman squeezed Thomas' hand tightly as Virgil smiled, the angel's eyes softening. 

He kissed Roman's forehead. "I can heal him." Virgil straightened and stared Thomas in the eye. "If you want it, I can heal you." 

Thomas smiled disbelievingly. "You…you mean…oh my God…." His fingers tightened on Roman's as Virgil laughed quietly. 

"Eh, close enough." He reached out a hand, "Whaddya say?" 

Thomas hesitated, hair falling in his face, and stared Virgil in the eyes. "Yes." 

Virgil set his jaw, looking over to Roman for a moment, "If I faint, catch me." 

"Wait, Virgil!" 

Virgil laid his palm on Thomas' forehead. 

An unearthly glow filled the air. Virgil quickly sucked in a breath as his now-brightly-shining eyes fluttered shut. Golden light pulsed through Virgil's arm to Thomas. Roman felt himself being guided away from the bed - from /Thomas/ and /Virgil/ and /that was his family let him go/ - by Logan's firm hands. Then, the light grew so bright that Roman had to shield his eyes. A high-pitched ringing filled the air.

Suddenly, everything stopped. 

Roman peeked through his fingers to see Virgil swaying on his feet. He broke away from Logan and did his best to steady Virgil. 

Virgil smiled stupidly, "He'll be fine." With that, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell into Roman. 

"Virgil? Virgil! Oh no, oh no…please, please, no!" Roman was babbling, he knew that, yet he couldn't help but continue. He supported Virgil, laying him down gently on the floor. Roman's eyes flickered between Virgil and Thomas, both laying limply and undoubtedly unconscious.

/No/, that was his /family/, they had to be okay! They /had/ to be okay!!!

Roman sensed someone kneel next to him, and he looked up to Logan's face. "/Roman/," He was using his power again. "Roman, /listen/. Virgil is going to be fine, he simply overexerted himself. Thomas is going to be /fine/. You, however, are panicking. /Relax/." 

Roman felt his muscles relax against his will. He needed to watch out for the others. Virgil had quite literally fainted into his arms. Logan said Thomas was okay, as had Virgil, but Roman needed to see for himself. And what about Patton? Roman /had/ to look out for them. 

He felt a hand in his hair. "Don't, Roman." Patton, oh god, /Patton/. "You can sleep. We'll look after everyone. You can rest if you need to." 

Roman let himself fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	7. Ch 6: Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Summary: Nothing good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh...sorry in advance. Had to put angst in somewhere tho.
> 
> HEYHEYHEY SERIOUSLY READ THIS TW: fire/burning house, Remus appears for once, mention of blood, unsympathetic!Patton, unsympathetic!Logan, unsympathetic!Virgil, really vague religious imagery?, NIGHTMARES BAD NIGHTMARES
> 
> If y’all need to skip, or just not read, pleaseee do so, I’ll be putting a smaller summary at the beginning of next chapter with much less angst, I promise

There were flames.

Roman could see the fire dancing through the open windows. It seemed to reach for them and he did his best to redirect it in whatever way he could. Remus was crying, but still managed to peek out the broken window. He was the baby of the family, and he had already seen so much. Roman sent a particularly strong blast of magic towards the fire and looked up to his brother. 

Remus shook his head, tears streaking down his sooty cheeks. 

No one would help them, then. 

Roman set his jaw. He was strong. He had gotten them into this - he could get them out. 

A traitorous voice reminded him that he hadn't been able to get Mama and Papa out. 

Roman gestured for Remus to come nearer. He gathered his brother to him and coughed out an order to stay close and hold on tight. 

Roman closed his eyes, doing his best to forget about the heat of the flames, the roar of the mob, the ash in the air and the smoke in his lungs. He focused instead on being someplace else. He thought of being in a forest, on a beach, in the mountains, at the top of a castle tower. He imagined he was truly there. 

And the words came to him. 

The spell flowed out of him like the water he was so desperately imagining. 

The world seemed to heave underneath him. He finished the spell and opened his eyes. It was like he was looking through intense heat. The world was waving and undulating in a way that almost made Roman sick. The shapes and colors were all blurring together, and everything spun. 

Instead, Roman focused on his brother…who was slowly being pulled away from him. 

Roman screamed, but no sound came out. 

(No, no, this wasn't right. He had replayed this moment in his head over and over for years. He screamed and the sound echoed around him and then Remus screamed and then they were pulled apart and then Remus disappeared into the Green and Roman disappeared into the Red and then Thomas pulled him out of the Black. This wasn't right.)

Roman still couldn't make a sound. 

The world kept spinning, but Remus latched on with an iron grip. (No, Remus never wanted to hurt Roman. He refused to do anything that might even have the chance of hurting Roman. That's how he'd been pulled away so easily.)

Remus' eyes started to glow and his body began spasming as he coughed. (No. This wasn't right!)

He coughed and coughed and coughed, body shaking in Roman's grasp. Blackened blood began to pour from his mouth as he kept /coughing/. 

Remus suddenly went limp, smiling up at Roman stupidly. (Remus didn't smile like that. Why was he smiling like that?) His mouth opened impossibly wide and Roman fell into the Black. 

This time, however, there was no Thomas to shake him and bring him back. 

Roman slammed into something, the breath getting knocked out of him for a moment before he was lifted up by his hair. 

Patton was nearly tearing the hair out by the roots, grinning too widely with blood-red eyes large with anticipation. 

Then Logan was running sharp nails along Roman's jawline, drawing blood. He spoke, and Roman was forced to stand. Whatever Logan said, Roman was forced to do, almost as if invisible strings were forcing him along. 

Virgil was near him now, covered in eyes and bearing judgement. Roman was to face damnation for killing his family. 

"No, it wasn't me! I'm sorry! Please, you have to believe me! No!" 

They were laughing now. They were laughing at him. Logan with his pointed teeth and Virgil with his staring eyes and Patton with his too-wide grin and Thomas wasn't /there/. 

"No, Patton, please! Don't!" 

This wasn’t supposed to happen!

"Logan, it /hurts/, make it /stop/!" 

Please just make it stop!

"Virgil, no, I didn't mean to! Please…don't do this, please!" 

Why wouldn't it stop?!

"Thomas! Where are you?" 

Why wouldn’t it STOP??? 

"Roman, Roman, it's okay. It's fine. We're here, you just gotta wake up!" 

"Roman, please…I promise, you're okay. You'll be okay." 

"I'm right here, Ro. We’re all right here.”

"/Roman, wake up/!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm lol uhh sorry
> 
> See you Saturday :D


	8. Ch 7: Waking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman wakes up from his nightmare. The others comfort him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Happy Saturday
> 
> Uhh I actually have a favor to ask of you guys? I’ve been having a really shitty week and it’s probably only going to get worse from here on out, so uhh if you’re reading this, and you haven’t already, could you hit the kudos button or comment somethin nice or...something? 
> 
> Lol I gotta get me some seratonin one way or another
> 
> (And also if you don’t want to bc you don’t like the story that’s totally fine too, pls don’t feel pressured bc I’m having an off day lol) 
> 
> Also, holy /shit/, this story’s been going on for almost a month!!! That’s crazy!!!! Thank you all so much for this lol, the response to my story has been better than I could’ve ever imagined.
> 
> Anyways, onto the story! Finally, some fluff lol

[Previous Chapter Summary: Roman dreams of how he and Remus were separated, along with why. However, the stress from Thomas’ healing and just general bad timing results in a terrifying nightmare where Patton, Logan, and Virgil embody the worst of each of their specific species. It ends with these dream!Immortals laughing in the face of Roman’s pain, while the /real/ P, L, V, and Thomas do their best to wake Roman, with Logan finally using his power and forcing Roman awake.]

Roman shot into a sitting position, breathing heavily and /screaming/. 

There were too many hands, too many bodies, too many /eyes/. 

Wait. 

Eyes. 

Baby-blue. Dark, stormy blue. Light brown. Grey. 

No red. 

Only four pairs. Eight eyes. 

Nothing but /their/ eyes. 

Roman blinked, and there they were. 

Patton, Logan, Virgil, Thomas. 

Home. 

Roman felt his face crumple as he /sobbed/. 

Instantly, hands were pulling him close, settling him against (warm, firm, kind, /there/) bodies. 

They held him, comforted him as he just let everything out. 

Finally, Roman opened his eyes, swiping one last time at the tear-stains on his cheeks. 

And he looked up. 

The first face he saw was Thomas'. His adoptive father looked pained, but healthier than ever. Thomas was running his thumb back and forth over the back of Roman's hand. 

Patton was the second that Roman saw. The demon had tears of his own running down his face, though he did smile at Roman when he noticed the human staring. (Not a too-wide smile, or even a wide smile at all, but a smile. Patton was sad, and he couldn't smile too much, but he tried his best for Roman. He always tried his best for Roman). Patton was smoothing Roman's sweaty hair down, making slow and even strokes. 

Logan was nearer to Roman's feet, hand resting on Roman's shin. He didn't seem to want to meet Roman's eyes. Roman assumed that it was because of the rather obvious tear tracks and puffiness around Logan's eyes. Like Patton, Logan returned Roman's smile. 

Then Virgil. He had his (Two. Not hundreds. Two.) eyes shut tightly, and his face was almost buried in Roman's shoulder. Virgil was the one supporting Roman's upper body. Roman shifted slightly and nudged Virgil. The angel flinched violently at the contact. 

"No, hey," Roman murmured, curling closer to his angel. "It's okay. I'm okay now. I'm here. We're okay." 

Virgil made some sort of noise, raising his head just enough to look at Roman. Roman realized that Virgil was crying only when he sobbed for a second time and covered his face again.

"'M sorry." Roman could hardly make out Virgil's words, "I was just so scared. You were screaming, and we couldn't wake you up, and…" Virgil cut himself off. He seemed to gather himself slightly, doing some breathing technique, and continued, "You scared me. You scared me so bad, Roman. I thought you were dying and I didn't think that there would be anything that I could do to stop it." Virgil shifted slightly so that he was hugging Roman rather than simply cradling him. "You kept screaming for me, for all of us, and I didn't know what to do!" 

Roman hugged Virgil back, hiding his own tears in the crook of Virgil's neck. "I'm sorry for scaring you." Roman was speaking to Virgil, but lifted his head after a moment, directing this to everyone, "I'm sorry for scaring you all." 

Logan's hand tightened on Roman's leg, "And I'm sorry I took so long…to-to /do something useful/." 

In the silence that followed, Logan looked up to Roman and the others. Roman was taken aback by the emotion present in Logan's eyes. 

They were so full of pain. 

"I-I heard you screaming and you didn't /stop/. I knew I could wake you up but I…I couldn't, I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I had to just /watch/ as you suffered. It…then you screamed for all of us and everyone else was screaming and finally, /finally/ I could move."

Roman didn't know how to respond, but it seemed like Logan wasn't quite finished just yet. 

"If I was just faster or-or less panicked, I might've been able to save you from this a little sooner. I'm…I'm sorry."

Roman surprised even himself with the anger in his voice, "Logan, don't you /dare/ say something like that." Logan was very obviously floored by Roman's tone. Virgil relaxed his hold so that Roman could sit tall and stare Logan in the eyes. "Don't you /dare/ talk about yourself like that. You’re /brilliant/. Just because you panicked when someone started /screaming/ in their sleep doesn’t mean that you aren't smart. I means…it means that you're normal." Roman laughed slightly, which seemed to lighten the mood of the room considerably. "I would say that it makes you 'human' but I'm not entirely sure you'd take that as a compliment!"

Logan stared for a moment before suddenly letting out a wet laugh. "Oh, Roman…." Logan ran a hand through his hair, giving a side-glance to Roman. "It's not an insult if you're the human you're comparing me to."

Roman turned red. "Wh - Logan! Y-You're not supposed to be the one to make me blush! Dammit, now you /and/ Patton are doing this! This is homophobia!" Roman pretended to pout and threw himself back into Virgil's arms. "Virgil! You're my only hope!" 

Virgil stared for a moment before smirking, leaning forward slightly until he was directly in front of Roman. 

Roman could only stare, wide-eyed, as Virgil /kept coming closer/. 

Virgil didn't stop until he was only millimeters from Roman's face, practically sharing the same breath as Roman.

"Gotcha." 

Roman realized his face was more than likely redder than a tomato and he scowled. "Dammit, Virgil!" 

Virgil laughed heartily at that. His eyes were almost closed and his teeth shone. 

/God/, Roman wanted to kiss him.

Roman squirmed, face reddening, and pulled himself from Virgil's grasp once again. He pouted dramatically, trying to hold back his giggles. Roman looked away from the angel, only for his eyes to meet Thomas'. 

"Thomas!" Roman launched himself at his adoptive father, nearly knocking the shorter man over. "Are you okay? What happened? Are you still sick?"

Thomas wrapped his arms around Roman, laughing, "Woah! Roman! Slow down! I'm fine now, your demon over there figured out what was making me sick. Your angel healed me. I'm /fine/ now. I promise." 

Roman's eyes filled with tears again as he buried his face in Thomas' neck. "Th-That's really good."

Thomas pulled away slightly and gently chucked Roman in the head. "I'm fine. You slept through the night, but Patton was just in the middle of making breakfast. We can talk while we're eating." 

Patton gasped in horror and dashed to the door, "My pancakes!" Just before he exited Roman's room, he raced back towards the others, kissing Roman on the forehead, "I'm so happy you're okay, love." With that, he disappeared. 

Roman stared after him for a moment before Thomas stood, pulling Roman up with him. "I'm gonna go help Patton. Be safe! Love you!" He gave Roman one last crushing hug and left the room, leaving Roman sputtering and the others laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading!!! It always means so much to me when someone reads my stories, even if they don’t particularly like it lol, just you clicking in means the world, so...thanks!!!
> 
> Love y’all!!! <3


	9. Ch 8: Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At breakfast, Roman remembers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Happy Tuesday!!!
> 
> Okay, first off, thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter. It's really, really, nice of you. (No I did not cry, I just got dust in my eye, thank you very much) I was right, my week's only gotten worse, but...those comments have kept me going. So thanks!!!!! <3
> 
> Second, /oh my god/, y'all, the support for this fic is absolutely /incredible/. Thank you /so much/, oh my /god/. I started this fic as the indulgent wish of a boy who was in a shitty situation, and now it's practically all i think about anymore lol. Is now a good time to mention that I've literally created an entire language for this AU? That I've got a handdrawn map of the entire country, complete with town names and topography? That I've literally covered an entire wall with plot points and sticky notes about it? 
> 
> Though if you ask me how old Roman is, or when this is set (or where for that matter), I'll probably cry. Not in a good way. 
> 
> I've been told that I'm "unhealthily obsessed", but I prefer to think of it as "passionate" lol. 
> 
> ANYways, onto the actual story. Enjoy!!!
> 
> TW/CW: Lots of food, mentions of anxiety/nervousness, fidgeting?, mentions of a really painful headache, I think that's it?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!!

Roman sighed, turning to face Logan and Virgil. He reached out his hands, offering them to the quieter men. "Thank you. Again. I…didn't know that you were going to be able to heal him, and…I can't thank you enough." Virgil laced their fingers tightly together, smiling down at Roman. Logan, however, gently clasped their hands, almost as if he was afraid of hurting the human. "Thank you so much." 

Roman tried in vain to keep his tears from falling (again). He launched himself at the other men, holding them tightly for a moment before pulling away again and smiling brightly. He swung their connected hands for a moment, “Are you two ready for some food? I’m starving!” Logan and Virgil gave their affirmatives, so Roman began to tug them along, "I've not had Patton's cooking, but it smells absolutely wonderful!" 

They reached the kitchen. Patton was bustling about on the stove, piling pancake after pancake onto a platter. Thomas was making idle chatter with the demon with tales from Roman's youth while setting the table. 

Logan and Virgil fussed over Roman as the last of the food was prepared and delivered to the table. They all sat, Thomas at the head of the table, Roman on his right and Logan on his left. Patton was next to Roman, which left Virgil's space next to Logan. 

Patton waltzed over, carrying a rather impressive amount of food for such a small-statured person. 

"Patton!" Roman stared at the pile of food, This looks delicious! Well done!" 

Patton waved Roman off, setting down a large jug of what seemed to be orange juice. "Thanks, Ro-Ro! I really hope you like it! I tried to remember what you said your favorites were, and I think I got /pretty/ close." Patton began setting down the plates. He started listing off all the food he'd managed to make, "We've got scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes - of /course/ - and butter and blackberry jam, for the /Patton/-cakes." Roman couldn't help the small snicker, amidst everyone else's groans and half-hidden smiles. 

Patton set down the last plate with a flourish, and everyone began to serve themselves and the others. The chatter was nice, bouncing from subject to subject (courtesy of Roman and Patton), with only Thomas /not/ struggling to follow it. 

Roman scarfed down his bacon and eggs first, not realizing just how hungry he was. It was good to see the others finally eat something too, especially Thomas. Roman absent-mindedly let the others take over the conversation, content to just watch and listen. He set about smearing the blackberry jam across his first pancake - his first /Patton/-cake. 

God, Roman would always want to call it that now. 

Roman smiled and bit into the cake, savoring the way the jam and the pancake almost seemed to melt in his mouth. 

And then he froze. 

Memories of his childhood, his /mother/ and /father/ and /oh god, Remus/ began to flood his mind. Roman froze, staring down at the seemingly innocent pancake. 

Back then, before his life had been destroyed, Roman had always loved standing alongside Remus in their little kitchen and helping his dad help his mom make their Saturday morning breakfast. Monday through Friday, Roman and Remus were either taking lessons from the local school-mistress or helping her with the younger kids. Sunday was the day where everyone in the community got together and basically had a giant potluck, both to gossip freely and to help out anyone who was struggling. 

The town /had/ been good like that. 

Saturday was the only time where all of Roman's family could be together, and it was one of very few memories that hadn't become tainted by what the townspeople had done. 

Back then, Roman and Remus had never been allowed to know the exact ratio of ingredients that their mother used for the pancake mix. Their mother had said it was because it was a very special recipe, one that had been passed down for hundreds of years through their family. They'd learn it when they were older, she had promised. 

They never did get that chance. The day that the townspeople turned on Roman's family was the last time that Roman had tasted those pancakes. 

Until right now. 

"Ro, what's wrong?" 

Roman's gaze shot up from his plate to Logan, who, like the rest of his family, was staring at Roman. Roman laughed, high-pitched and slightly panicky, but was unable to form words. 

"Roman…you're crying." This time it was Patton that spoke, reaching over and gently brushing his fingers over Roman's cheek. Roman ducked his head, dashing at his eyes. God, he really was crying. 

"Sorry," Roman's voice was slightly hoarse. "It's just…Patton…how did you make these?" Patton's look of surprise was quickly covered by a mask of confusion, but Roman wasn't deterred. "These are the same pancakes my mother would make for us every Saturday, how did you know how to make them?" 

Patton fidgeted slightly, beaming a bright (fake, totally fake) smile at Roman, "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, but I kinda…found it? In your memories, I mean. Yesterday, while you were asleep." 

Roman's face went carefully blank. 

"Patton…" the demon in question wasn't as quick to hide his apprehension. "You're lying." At the quick intake of breath that followed, Roman knew he was right. "I never knew the recipe. My mom never told me. I'll ask again: /how did you know this recipe/?" 

Roman was bordering on desperate, mind flitting through a thousand possibilities. 

Maybe Patton knew someone else in Roman's family tree (he was old enough) and they'd told him the recipe, and he had happened to use it. Maybe Patton was the one who taught Roman's family way back when - one of Roman's family members could've sold their soul for…good cooking skills? Maybe, /just maybe/, Patton had learned it from Roman's mother. Maybe he'd learned it recently - /maybe she was still alive/. 

While Roman panicked internally, Logan, Patton, and Virgil were more animated. Logan tapped his fingers rapidly on the wood of the table, and his breathing was rather shallow. Virgil was rubbing anxiously at one of the strings of his hoodie, the other tucked firmly between his teeth. Patton, meanwhile, seemed more like he was imagining himself somewhere far, far away from this conversation. 

After more than a few moments of this, Logan finally burst. 

“…I can’t stand this!” Logan's outburst really shouldn’t have surprised Roman, considering what he knew about the fae as a whole, as well as this particular one as well. Logan stood abruptly from his chair, wooden legs screeching against the floor. Logan shook his hands for a moment, letting out some of his energy and grimacing, before Virgil leaned over and gently grabbed on to the fae’s sleeve. 

Virgil let the strings of his hoodie fall. “L, not yet.” Virgil shook his head, not meeting the other’s eyes. “It’s too soon. We have to wait. I…I know, Logan.” Virgil’s voice hitched. He was struggling to maintain his composure. “I want to do it, /God above/ knows I do,” Patton flinched, and Virgil shot an apologetic look his way before continuing, “But…we have to wait. You know that just as much as I do.” 

Logan let out a strangled breath, trying to calm himself, “I know, Virgil! I know, I know, I know! That does not mean that I am required to enjoy it!” 

Roman simply stared, gripping Patton’s hand tightly. When had that happened? No, Logan and Virgil were more important at the moment. Virgil was pressing Logan’s hand to his own mouth, murmuring around it. 

Oh, this was a bad idea. “What are you talking about?” Yup, bad idea. 

If it was possible, the tension in the room became even thicker at Roman’s question. Patton reached across with his other hand and squeezed the human's. “Roman, now is really not the time.” 

Roman would have normally been swayed by Patton’s unordinarily stern voice. He just…he couldn’t get past Logan’s anxious stimming or Virgil’s desperately flitting eyes. “No…” Roman smiled reassuringly at Patton, “I think it is.” 

Roman stood and allowed Patton’s hand to slip out of his own. He made his way around the table to Logan's side, inserting himself into the discussion. “I don’t care how long we’ve known each other. I /know/ you. I trust you." /I love you./ "What can I do to help? What’s going on?” 

Virgil opened his mouth to respond, but Logan’s sudden movement interrupted him. 

Logan had lunged forward, towards Roman.

Roman almost thought that Logan was falling. No, no that wasn’t it. This was controlled. Logan didn’t slow, seemingly uncaring about his speed, and crashed their lips together. 

Roman’s eyes flew wide with surprise before he slowly relaxed into the kiss. 

Oh, he was /kissing Logan/. 

Wow. 

This was better than anything Roman could have imagined. This was like…like spinning through the rain while laughing, this was like running your hand across the morning dew and watching it collect, this was like seeing a rainbow in the darkened sky. This was something that Roman had been wishing for and dreaming about for years. 

Was that why was it so familiar?

Almost as soon as he thought about the strange familiarity, memories started flooding through his head. Roman pulled away from Logan, clutching desperately at his head as it was almost overloaded with information. He barely registered Logan supporting him, trying to get him to focus. 

It…/hurt/.

Then, almost as suddenly as it began, the pain subsided. Roman was left breathing heavily, tightly wrapped in Logan’s arms. 

Roman stared wide-eyed at nothing for a beat, then looked up at Logan. Logan had tears in his eyes again. 

Roman took a moment to sort through his (new? old?) memories. 

A curl of a pointed-teeth-filled grin, a flash of glowing eyes. A feeling of warmth as magic wove it’s way through his veins again and again, time after time. The smell of fresh dew, light reflecting off a mushroom cap, the undeniable presence of a being older than you by centuries. 

/Oh/. 

Roman buried his face in Logan’s neck, "Logan, that…what was that?." 

Logan pressed his lips to Roman’s forehead, tears slipping down his face. “I’m sorry. I promise though, it will all make sense soon.” 

"Logan." Virgil was shaking, but Roman wasn't quite certain whether it was from nerves or anger. Perhaps it was a bit of both. "That…that was so dangerous." Virgil stood from his place at the table and quickly made his way over to where Roman and Logan were still huddled together, Patton standing and hurrying over as well. "Rom…Roman might not have been ready for that. He could've been seriously hurt, Lo. That was a really dumb thing to do without checking first." 

Logan, with his arms still loosely wrapped around Roman, smiled reassuringly over at Virgil. "I did check. Before, right after you healed Thomas. I checked then. I would never do anything that perilous to /Roman/ of all people without being absolutely /certain/ of my success." 

Patton took the opportunity to squeeze Roman's arm comfortingly. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Thomas, "Okay! While I am /so incredibly happy/ that you seem to care about Roman's safety, I, for one, would like to know /what exactly that was/." Thomas' arms were crossed tightly and he was more angry than Roman could ever remember seeing him. "I am incredibly thankful for what you've done for me and for Roman, believe me, but I also feel like there's a /very/ healthy amount of danger here. And I don't particularly enjoy not knowing what's going on." Thomas smiled thinly, "So I suggest you start explaining."

Logan's arms tightened minutely around Roman. 

Virgil straightened from his normally-slouched posture and stared at Thomas. Thomas stared right back. 

Slowly, everyone broke away from the embrace and sat back down at the table. Patton was staring at his plate while Logan and Virgil were staring at one another - all uncomfortably. 

Roman was just excited for the answers that he'd been wondering after for even longer than he even realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!!!
> 
> Next chapter, there might /actually/ be answers, instead of more questions, who knows?
> 
> (I do. There will be answers next chapter, lol.)
> 
> See ya Saturday!!!!


	10. Ch 9: Romulus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman finally gets his answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday!!
> 
> Okay, so important note, school starts back up in about two weeks, so next week will (probably, don't hold me to this) be the last of the bi-weekly updates for a while. It'll be changing to updates every Sunday, probably in the morning, but if something comes up, I'll definitely let you all know lol. Also, if I do feel as though I've written enough chapters to post two a week, it'll probably be released on a Thursday, so be on the lookout for those lol. 
> 
> All this is to say that I barely have any idea of how I'm going to update, but I'll try my best lol. 
> 
> Also, while I did say you'd be getting answers instead of more questions...I lied. You're getting both. Courtesy of our favorite magician, Roman, lol. :D
> 
> Anyways, onto the story!!!!
> 
> TW/CW: mentions of fatal injuries, crying??
> 
> ALso, if there's anything you want me to tag, please ask. I know how annoying it is when things aren't tagged properly lol. And that goes for chapter summaries as well, I'd be happy to go back and add in a bit about what happened in the previous chapter.

The silence at the small table was so thick that Roman could probably cut it with a knife. 

Finally, /finally/ he was getting answers. 

He peered around, only just managing to contain his excitement. Virgil, Logan, and Patton were all still clearly uncomfortable. Thomas still wouldn't look Roman in the eye. 

"Please," Roman's voice cracked slightly, and Patton's wince tore at Roman's heart. "I just…I just want answers." 

There was silence again, for a moment, then….

"This isn't the first time we've met Roman." Patton's voice was surprisingly clear considering that he had his face pointed more towards the table than towards the others. "Well, it's the first time for /this/ Roman, at least. But…well…we've known him - you - in other lives."

Roman tensed, mind reeling. "Wait, /what/?" 

There were stifled chuckles from around him. As an answer to his question, Patton continued to explain. "When we first met you, you were Romulus." 

Roman saw a flash of a tower, packed with magic and sorcery. He saw a man with a bright smile and powerful magic, though undeniably different from his own. It…it was /him/, though. It was /Roman/. 

Patton continued, oblivious to Roman's inner panic, yanking the man back to the present. "You were a prince of the realm. You had magic then, too. That's actually how we all met in the first place. We stayed with you, for a while. The years we spent together were…wonderful." Patton paused, reminiscing.

He took a deep breath and continued, "But, of course, things had to go south. You loved experimenting with your magic, and…we loved it too. But a spell went wrong, along the way." Patton paused, and cleared his throat, "You were hurt really badly. None of us were willing to let you die so easily, though. We brought you to Logan's home - to the Fae Queen. We convinced her to try to give you immortality. It…only half worked. Your brother…he thought that the Queen was bewitching you, so he tried to interrupt the spell. The effects of the spell were spliced. You are…basically immortal. You'll live forever, but you will live it in different bodies, different lives. To be completely honest, you've already lived hundreds of them. You're older than most established countries, at this point." 

As Patton laughed hollowly, Roman could only stare. 

He thought of the past eight days, of all the time he had spend with the others, the connection he felt with them, all the trust that they placed in one another. He thought of the strange memories, and how they were so familiar, but not entirely /his/ at all. 

Roman set his jaw, nodding to himself, and looked up to the others. 

They all wore varying degrees of worry on their faces, Logan stoic and silent, Patton nearly in tears, and Virgil somewhere in between. Thomas /still wasn't looking at him/. 

Roman smiled thinly, "I trust you." He stood again, hugging the small demon, trying to put everything he felt into the hug. "I believe you, Pat." He pulled away from Patton, smiling reassuringly over at Logan and Virgil. "I…I know you're not lying. Somehow." Roman laughed, "I'm not sure how, but I do. I believe you." 

Roman trusted these beings with his entire soul. He may not know /why/ he trusted them so deeply (a little over a week wasn't exactly enough time to build a relationship as strong as theirs seemed to be), but he did. They weren't lying. He trusted them. 

He believed them. 

After the sudden revelation of his apparent immortality, Roman's curiosity and creativity leapt into full-drive. 

How did they keep finding Roman throughout all his lifetimes? How bad was the injury that caused his loves to beg for his immortality? What had happened to his first brother, Regulus? Would there be a way to regain all his memories again? How much strain would it put on a human's mind to remember so much? How did all this even /work/? 

What Roman actually ended up asking, however, was something else entirely that was eating at his heart just as much. "Are you okay?" It was initially directed at Patton, who still looked as if he might cry, but Roman also worried just as much about Logan, who was staring blankly at Roman while habitually tugging at his collar, and Virgil, who sat hunched in his chair and biting at his thumb.

When Roman's question was asked, however, all three of them stared at him, dumbfounded. 

"You--but, that--you can't--" Logan blinked rapidly, mouth still slightly parted. Roman pursed his lips, doing his best to /not/ giggle at Logan, once again, being rendered speechless. It hadn't happened all that much, truly, but that just made every time it /did/ happen just that much more special. 

Virgil laughed. And he continued to laugh. "Roman…oh, Roman, you just learned you're immortal and you ask /us/ if we're okay? The /literal/ celestial beings, sitting at your dining room table. You're asking us if we're okay." Virgil laughed again, and Roman broke out into a full-fledged beaming smile. Virgil laughed so heartily far too little, in Roman's opinion, so it was good that he was finally able to let go enough to enjoy himself so genuinely. 

Patton's reaction, while also rather out of the ordinary, was far less amusing. Patton was crying silently, mouth completely covered with his hand and tears streaking down his round cheeks. Roman immediately softened upon seeing the demon, leaning over and wrapping him in a hug for the second time. For the first time that Roman remembered, Patton simply slumped into Roman’s arms, allowing himself to break. Roman did his best to comfort Patton, running a hand through the unruly curls and resting his chin atop the demon's head. Eventually, the quiet sobs turned to simple sniffles. 

And everything was quiet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading this. I know I've said it before, but it really means the world to me, so...thanks! 
> 
> <3


	11. Ch 10: More Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman can’t help himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight...I was editing this, and then I got distracted my Thomas’ membership livestream 😅 it also doesn’t help that I flew across the country yesterday and I’m so friggin jet lagged that I slept in until 4 pm lol 
> 
> Anyways, holy shit!!!! You guys!!!! We’re over 800 hits!!!!! And we passed 10,000 (published lol) words!!!!! And this is chapter ten!!!!!!!!! 
> 
> You guys, I say this so friggin much, but imma say this again; thank you!!! I literally can’t thank y’all enough, this is...amazing. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now...this is so, so awesome. 
> 
> Alright, onto the actual story lol. 
> 
> TW/CW: more headaches, there’s a kiss, Thomas gets worried, uhh idek

They were still wrapped in one another's arms, Roman and Patton, and it seemed like neither would be letting go any time soon. 

Well, now was as good a time as any. 

Roman summoned all his courage and gently nudged Patton's chin with his knuckles. Patton's head lifted, and before he could do much more than make a questioning noise, Roman closed the two-inch gap and kissed him. 

It only took a moment for Patton to start kissing him back. 

Roman focused only on Patton, the sweet taste of his lips, the way he hooked one arm around Roman's neck and pressed his other hand against Roman's cheek, the /familiarity/--

And just like that, the searing pain was back. 

Roman whimpered pitifully and pulled away from Patton, supporting Patton with one arm and using the other to clutch at his aching head. He vaguely registered Patton cupping his face and speaking soothingly, but the splitting headache made it hard to concentrate. 

The pain lasted longer than the last time, but it did eventually subside, and Roman was left breathing heavily and now in Patton's arms. 

He smiled shakily at Patton and took a moment to catch his breath and sort through the memories. 

Sunshine glinting off a head of copper curls and the blunted horns poking through them. Warmth thrumming through him, the warmth of love as well as something else entirely. Magic that sang of everything that it could promise, as well as the lies of the mundane. The now-familiar crimson color bled throughout the memories, soaking each in a vibrant red that spoke of a thousand moments shared together, and the possibility of thousands more. 

Roman giggled, blinking away tears, and stared up at his demon. "C'mere, you." Roman leaned his forehead against Patton's until their breathes mingled together. 

"Y-you dummy," Patton's voice was a mixture of laughter and tears, though his smile was as wide as ever, "You /scared/ me, Ro-Ro, you promised me you'd stop doing that!" 

They laughed together, tears now falling down both their faces. They were so absorbed in one another that they were wholly unprepared when Thomas marched forward and grabbed Roman in another bear-hug, almost accidentally knocking Patton off his chair. 

"You numbskull! Stop doing that! You have no idea what--" Thomas cut himself off, taking a deep breath and loosening his hold just a bit, "You have no idea how worried we were, Roman." 

Roman shrugged, smiling and totally unrepentant, "I couldn't just let Patton's adorably kissable face go without!" 

However tense the situation may have been beforehand, the loud thwacking noise as Thomas smacked the back of Roman's head - along with Roman's accompanying only-thing-hurt-was-his-pride whining - lightened the mood considerably. 

They sat quietly for another moment or two, just allowing Roman to sit and regain his senses. 

He gathered all his courage. "Why does it hurt?" 

And just like that, the mood fell again. 

The question had torn its way out of Roman's throat before he could think to stop it, and now he /vastly/ regretted it. 

He didn't take it back though. 

"Why does it hurt so much to…remember?" 

Patton pulled away from Roman, and Roman immediately ached for the comforting weight of the demon - /his/ demon - in his arms again. 

Virgil pulled the sleeves of his hoodie down over the majority of his hands while Logan simply studied Roman. Logan absentmindedly reached over and pulled Virgil's fingers away from his mouth, lacing their hands together tenderly, all the while looking at Roman with his unending, piercing stare. 

"Roman…" Logan's voice was unbearably tender, his mouth twisting into some semblance of a smile, though it seemed to be more of a grimace than anything. "I know that you're curious by nature, Fire-Eyes, but this might not be the right time for that particular discussion. Might I ask that we save this for later?" 

Roman was prepared to fight, to ask or demand or get his answers any way that was needed, but then he took a closer look at the others and stopped short. Virgil's eyes were so far away that he might've been on the moon. Patton was close to crying again. Logan was doing a remarkable job of holding himself together, but Roman could tell: he was close to breaking too. 

Roman would've never been able to tell before he'd regained parts of his memories. It was odd, the way his memories worked, it almost seemed like the memories weren't exactly /his/. They /were/ his, obviously, but…they weren't. These different versions of him had lived so, so many lives. So many /different/ lives. It was like consulting a book, or looking at a photo album instead of really /remembering/. 

This was /Roman's life/, and he just had the fortune to be able to look back into a window of perfectly preserved time into the lives of other people.

Most of the memories that Roman was able to access were ones centered around Patton and Logan, but…there was one…Roman didn't know what to make of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh cliffhangerrr :) 
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading!!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments lol, I /will/ reply, usually with about three paragraphs bc I love ranting about my fic lol. 
> 
> Love y’all!!! <3


	12. Ch 11: No More Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman remembers, Logan avoids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t say much (I’m so tired at the moment I don’t think I could even if I wanted to lol), but 940-some hits??? Holy shit, I can barely believe it. I love you guys so muchhh omg, thank you!!!!!

Romulus sighed, cursing the passage of time as his bones creaked as he stood. He looked down at the pages of spells he'd fallen asleep on. He needed to figure this out - he /needed/ to figure this out, if they had any chance of pulling this off. 

A heist from the vaults of Death and under the watchful guard of Time. 

Romulus thought of his loves, who'd stayed as young and healthy as the day he'd first met them throughout the years. He thought of Logan, with his bright eyes and passionate rants and stubborn insistence that he was an all-powerful being, he did /not/ need to be cuddled and /babied/, thank you (of course, while curled in Romulus' lap like a common housecat). He thought of Patton, with his warm smiles and kind hugs and almost childish interests that he somehow managed to make interesting and enjoyable for anyone and everyone involved. He thought of Virgil, with his laughs as varied as the seasons and his desire only to protect what was his. 

Romulus sighed again, reaching down and picking up a page that he'd scribbled all over, even into the margins (oh, Logan would be disappointed). He looked it over for a moment before crumpling it in his fist. 

He thought again of the others. Of how Virgil would always pull away when he was upset, how he would do /anything/ rather than watch one of them suffer. Of how Patton would hide his emotions constantly just so that none of the others felt compelled to do the same to him. Of how Logan would pull his guard up around himself so tightly that even he couldn't see back out of it to the ones he loved. 

Romulus grit his teeth and flicked the paper into the roaring fireplace. 

He had work to do. 

\---------------------------

Roman pulled himself from the memory - Romulus' memory, /his/ memory. What had Romulus been working on?? Roman couldn’t remember, and though the notes were recognizable, Roman couldn’t remember what they were about. 

Roman shook himself from the vestiges of his introspection for the second time. Logan needed him more right then. 

Roman knew from the scrapbook of his memories that Logan always set his jaw tightly against the world if he encountered a difficult situation. His shoulders would tense and he'd stand at perfect attention, eyes either locked on the "danger" present or darting around the room. 

"Okay, Lo.” Roman quickly pulled up his façade, hiding however he might've really felt under a protective shell. He smiled brightly at Logan, the smile turning genuine when Patton pressed himself back against Roman. "This can wait.” Roman clapped his hands together, “Now, we have a beautiful, fantastic breakfast for us to finish, courtesy of a certain little marshmallow," Patton's giggles had their intended affect, and Virgil and Logan both relaxed just a bit.

But a bit was all Roman needed. "Let's eat!" 

All throughout breakfast, Roman chattered away with Patton and Thomas, Logan and Virgil interjecting every once in a while. They mostly focused on the specifics of the town Thomas and Roman had set up just outside, Freyhold, with a few interjections about the /cutest/ dog the butcher had, a monstrously fluffy thing that seemed content to consistently tackle Roman with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. 

They talked about how the McCarthy boys' fresh fruit was obviously so much worse than old Mrs. Hudson's /actually/ fresh fruit. They talked about how the blacksmith's wife made the /best/ chocolate brownies in the whole village. They talked about how every once in a while, Mr. Hodgkins would break out his old monster of an instrument and play for the whole town. He called the instrument a “backyard banjo,” but Roman enjoyed simply calling it “Big Bertha” instead. Mr. Hodgkins always got a kick out of that. 

Soon enough, though, breakfast was nearly over. Patton had volunteered to wash the dishes, and when Thomas insisted that he'd be fine on his own, Virgil followed the both of them to the kitchen, presumably to watch the passive-aggressive drama that was about to take place. 

And Logan and Roman were left sitting alone at the table. Logan's eyes were on his plate, which still had a fair amount of food left on it. Logan was pushing the small, bite-sized pieces of his pancakes around in the pool of syrup he'd managed to create. 

He wouldn't meet Roman's eyes. 

Roman pursed his lips, eyes narrowing in thought. Logan had always seemed to like food, and from what Roman could remember, he always seemed to enjoy "Patton's patented pancakes" before. He'd already eaten quite a few, as well, so it wasn't that the pancakes were bad in any way. No, Logan was just pushing his food around, refusing to eat it, even though everyone else had already finished with the meal. 

All of a sudden, Roman understood. 

He reached out and gently laid his hand on Logan's wrist, stopping the fae in his tracks. "Lo," Roman's soft voice still managed to startle Logan, "It's okay, I get it." Roman slid his hand down Logan's wrist, tangling their fingers together and resting them on the table between them. "You're trying to drag out breakfast so you won't have to answer me, aren't you?" 

Logan's silence was answer enough. 

"Oh, Logan, if it's worrying you that much, I won't press the issue." Logan's head shot up, and god, he looked so scared. Roman smiled reassuringly, squeezing Logan's hand, "I mean it. I can push aside my curiosity on this. It's alright, anything I need to know, you'll tell me, I know that much." 

Logan pursed his lips, trying to hide how they were trembling ever so slightly. "Thank you, Roman…and I swear to you, when you need to know, I'll tell you everything." 

Roman smiled, leaning forward slightly and pecking Logan on the cheek. "'Kay!" 

Logan sputtered for a moment, cheeks reddening at an almost alarming rate. Roman couldn't hold back his laughter, loud and boisterous and totally infectious. "That's for flustering me earlier!" 

Logan scowled, crossing his arms and doing a rather lousy job at hiding his own smile. 

"Come on," Roman stood and held his hand out again, "We should make sure Thomas and Pat don't polite each other to death while we're out here." 

Logan took Roman's hand, "They do seem to be rather unwilling to allow people to help them, don't they?"

Roman did just about as good of a job at hiding his grin as Logan, "Well, it's a good thing they've got us lookin out for them, then." 

The two walked together into the kitchen, hand in hand, to find the rest of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	13. Ch 12: One Month Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One month later, Roman goes into town. He's not sure if he's going to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, the update schedule's gone wack again. I figured this'll be the last update of this schedule, then transition to only-Sundays instead of posting this Saturday. 
> 
> In all honesty, I've been writing my heart out for the past few days, and I'm kinda unhappy with the chapters I've gotten down, but I mean I got it all down, so...progress. 
> 
> Also, yes, this is another timeskip. I may be lazy, or I may just not want to bore any readers by detailing what these guys ate for the sixteenth day in a row. Anyways, timeskip! One month later! Ooh these guys can get themselves into a whole lotta mischief in a month... >:)
> 
> Also, as always, thank you for reading this story!!! If you have any questions, I will /gladly/ rant to you in the comments. I'm thinking about starting a Tumblr page just to keep track of everything...idk. 
> 
> Love y'all!!

It had been almost a month since Thomas had been healed. 

And things had been good. 

Virgil, Logan, and Patton weren't able to stay with Thomas and Roman the whole time, though they tried their best. Roman didn't know the whole story, something about an ancient law being broken or something, Roman had been far too distracted during that conversation by Virgil's hand creeping up his thigh to really understand what Logan had been saying.

However, when they /did/ manage to come around…well, it was /wonderful/. They'd go on walks, they'd fool around in the gardens outside the house, and Roman even took them into town a few times every week. It was good, it was peaceful. 

It was calm. 

(So, of course, everything had to go to absolute /shit/. )

It was one of the only days of the week where Patton, Virgil, and Logan wouldn't be able to make it to Roman and Thomas' house until later in the day, so Roman had gone into town alone to get some supplies for their dinner that night. It wasn't a long walk into town, maybe fifteen minutes or so, but it gave Roman enough time to reflect on the past weeks. 

It was almost immediately after that fateful breakfast that Roman had officially been asked to join the others' relationship. It was supposed to be really sweet, with them all planning on making a picnic to surprise Roman with. The only downside being that Patton was the only one that could cook. Their little surprise had been ruined when Roman walked into the kitchen to see what all the noise was, only to find the three absolutely /covered/ with flour and other baking ingredients. They had sheepishly explained, and Roman had only rolled his eyes, dragging them all outside to get the worst of the mess off. He had told them that they were all dumber than rocks, and /of course/ he wanted to be with them. Of course, he had immediately showered them with water, but they did end up having a rather fun afternoon having water-fights with one another, so it all turned out good. 

The weeks after that had been nothing short of wonderful. Thomas had given them all the shovel-talk, which had been embarrassing for just about everyone involved, but he'd given the okay and let them be for most of the rest of the time. Of course, they still managed to have family nights where they would all gather around and play board games or such, so Roman managed to keep all of his little family in his life as much as possible. 

Thomas had also taken to going back into town every few days, beginning to go back to his "job" as an entertainer, though Roman saw right through his act. Thomas didn’t care about the money - he just wanted to be able to make kids laugh again. 

Roman really couldn’t blame him for that.

But Thomas…it had seemed like he was avoiding Roman and his new boyfriends. Roman probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been so familiar with Thomas, but it was the truth. Thomas’ smile had seemed fake, almost like plastic, and his eyes seemed a little hard every time he was looking at one of the others, particularly Logan. 

Roman couldn’t help but wonder /why/. Why was Thomas so against these supernatural creatures, especially the only Fae amongst them? 

Maybe it had something to do with Thomas’ past. Thomas has never told Roman his story, only sharing bits and pieces about his Mom and Ren, and how he wanted to go back, but he would rather continue and explore the world before doing so. Perhaps he’d had bad dealings with the Fae before? Maybe that was why he couldn’t go home - he was cursed! Or maybe he had made a Deal, and he couldn’t go back home. Or maybe --

Roman was startled out of his musings by the sudden curve in the path and the sunshine suddenly shining on his face. He couldn’t help but smile. He’d finally arrived: Freyhold. 

Oh, Roman loved this town, with its random assortment of houses and buildings. Their Main Street was a winding road that seemed to resemble more of a stream than a true road. Everything seemed to change on the regular, too. One day Miss Hayweather would take up shop in the slant-roofed building near the Old Oak, and the next week the barmen could be seen hauling kegs into the very same building. 

It was one of the many things that gave the town an air of magic. 

Roman walked through his town, greeting them all as he made his way to the market. It was a fairly large town for that part of the country, but Roman still knew everyone there. He stopped to talk to many of them too, but had to pull himself away from Mrs. Chilcott and two of her children to get to the market and back home in time for dinner. 

Roman finally made it to the colorful market and sighed happily. Oh, he /loved/ the market. It was /huge/, almost inordinately so considering the size of the town. But there was just something about Freyhold, that, no matter how close it was to the Edge, or how close it was to the border of the Fairy Queen's Forest, managed to attract people. Roman could spend an entire day browsing the stalls and making idle chatter with the shopkeepers, but he was a man on a mission. He set a record time for getting everything he'd need for his dinner plans before turning back to the northern entrance, planning on taking a shortcut around the village to get back home. 

However.

As Roman turned to leave, his path was blocked by large, burly men in steel armor with a strange symbol of a sword and shield on their chestplates who refused to let him pass. 

Roman narrowed his eyes, these were men of the Royal Guard. He'd seen them long ago, some time with his mother and brother, even as far back as Regulus and Romulus' time, but he'd /never/ seen them in Freyhold. 

What were they doing here? 

"/There you are!/" Roman whirled around at the voice, which seemed to belong to a man slightly shorter than him, with thick glasses, brown cloak and pinkish shirt, and a rather…unintimidating scowl settled on his face. The man, who'd been in the process of storming up to Roman, stopped short, though his stern expression never wavered, "I swear to whatever god may be listening, you really think giving yourself a haircut and shaving would fool us for long? Really? You couldn't have hidden from us for long, so I don't know why you insist on giving us heart attacks /every day/." The man stepped closer, wrenching the basket out of Roman's hands and shoving it at one of the guards, "Remy, please, take whatever this is, this /fool/ and I are going to have a little /chat/ on our way home." 

The guard - wearing a different helmet and a larger cape than the others (maybe the Captain?) - nodded, "Sure thing, Emile." He shot a wink at Roman, "Good luck, babes." 

Roman set his jaw and tried to reach into his pocket nonchalantly, but this "Emile" scowled, "Oh no, I don't know what disgusting trick you've picked up this time, but I will have /no part in it/, empty your pockets, young man." 

Roman didn't even try to hide his expression as he nearly threw the small pouch with his Beacon-Stones at Emile, finding humor in how the man fumbled with the bag. Guess he'd not be able to call the others /that/ way. 

Emile pouted slightly, "You don't have to be /rude/ about it. This is for your own good, you know!" 

Roman scoffed, then turned slightly to look at the shopkeeper - a good friend of his, thank God - nearest to him, "Rebecca, tell the others where I've gone, would you?" 

Rebecca nodded, eyes narrowed, and slipped out of the market before the guards could do much more than blink in surprise. Roman almost laughed at that - they'd have no chance against a half-nymph even if she was only half-trying. 

Emile scowled again, "Well? Come along, we have a long journey ahead of us." 

He turned and strode towards a large, dark carriage at the other end of the market. Roman was pushed along by Remy and one of the others, Roman didn't care nearly enough to wonder about their name. However, even as he was forced into the (soon-locked) carriage, Roman couldn't help his nonchalant attitude about the whole situation. 

One way or another, he wouldn't be around these people for much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At some point I might just take a day to edit /everything/ about this story, including the name and all the slashes instead of italics.......but that's a problem for future-me lol, I'm too busy with AP physics summer work rn :( 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Love you!!!


	14. Ch 13: His Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas explains what happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me accidentally deleting half the friggin chapter and freaking out bc I can’t find the “undo” button 🙃 I’m doing w o n d e r f u l if you couldn’t tell. 
> 
> Sigh, anyways, school starts Wednesday, I’ve had three mental breakdowns in the past week, and i have my bike tuned up and two bug-out bags stashed in my closet. 
> 
> I love it here. 
> 
> Anyways, wooooowwwww more exposition. From me? That’s shocking 😐
> 
> I like this ch tho, it gives a lil sneak-peek into what’s goin on with Thomas - cookies for anyone who manages to guess what it is 😁 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!!!!

When Thomas heard the telltale sounds of an Angel, a Fae, and a Demon appearing in his living room, he nearly sprinted over in his haste to get to them. Virgil, Logan, and Patton were looking around excitedly (and why wouldn't they? This was supposed to be their first dinner with Roman and Thomas in almost a week) for Roman. 

They certainly weren't prepared for the hurricane of a disaster that was Thomas. 

"It's Roman," He blurted out, not even bothering for pleasantries. The others froze, "One of the shopkeepers came by less than ten minutes ago. Rebecca, Rebecca Monoray, you know her, and Roman's been /taken/. There were members of the Royal Guard, and the Advisor, and they /took Roman/, straight out of the market." Thomas was breathing heavily, frantic and shaking slightly. 

Patton and Logan were staring in shock, but Virgil had a (rather scary) dark look on his face. "Where did they go?" 

Thomas spoke again, "Their carriage was parked at the southern gate to the Market."

Virgil nodded, taking large strides towards the door. "Follow as quick as you can, Lo. Pat, Thomas, you stay here," Virgil flung open the door and shot a lazy grin over his shoulder, eyes cold, "we'll be back before you know it." 

Virgil stepped out the door and tilted his head back, and suddenly three pairs of wings were folding into existence. Virgil crouched slightly, then sprang into the air and out of their sight. Thomas rushed to the door, and he watched as Virgil grew smaller and smaller, til he was just a darkened blur against the sky. 

He turned back to Logan and Patton, leaning back against the doorframe. He couldn't help but laugh slightly, "Of course. Of course that would happen to Roman. I swear, my boy has the luck of a black cat who’s broken the bathroom mirror." 

Patton managed a small laugh at the joke, but Logan only took off his glasses, slowly, and began cleaning them on the hem of his shirt, "I believe that Virgil asked me to follow him because he does not believe that he will be able to 'reign himself in'. Nevertheless," Logan placed his glasses back on his face, eyes glowing slightly and mouth stretched /wide/ in a grin. "I do not believe that I will be as good an influence as he wishes." 

He moved towards the door and made to leave, but Thomas grabbed his upper arm as he passed, locking bright, intense eyes on Logan, "I know you can move faster than Patton and I if you travel alone, and that is the /only/ reason you are leaving this house without me. I care for that boy more than anyone, anything else in this world, and you'd better bring him back, safe and sound, you hear me?" 

Logan imagined that, if Thomas was anything like him, his eyes would be glowing and he'd be brimming over with power. 

But that would be impossible. 

Logan brushed aside his musings, settling a feral grin on Thomas, "What do you take me for, Thomas, a fool? Or just plain stupid?" 

Thomas nodded in satisfaction and allowed Logan to pass, not even turning to watch as Logan mumbled a spell under his breath and disappeared in a flash of golden sparks. 

As soon as the magic faded, Thomas sighed heavily and slid to the floor. 

Patton stood still for a moment more before settling across from him. He reached out, almost hesitantly, and laid his hand on Thomas' knee. "They'll get him back, Thomas. Our boys will get him back." 

Thomas nodded, refusing to look at Patton, "I know…they'll get him back…." He sighed again, lifting his head and staring at Patton with bright eyes, "I just hope he'll be okay." 

Patton nodded, shifting slightly so that he was holding Thomas' hand, squeezing it silently.

Neither said anything more, waiting for their boys to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously though, thank you all for reading. I love this story, and I love how so many people seem to like it too. 
> 
> So, thanks 😊


	15. Ch 14: An Interesting Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emile manages to capture Roman’s attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all. Holy shit. I seriously cannot thank you enough for the support of this story. It’s...jfc, it’s the best fuckin feeling in the world. I love you guys so much. 
> 
> School’s started for me (yay) but I actually have good classes for once (yay!), against all odds, so that’s good ig. 
> 
> Yes, this is a very short chapter, yes I am trying to write longer ones, no I’m not very good at it yet, yes I am trying my hardest. Sorry about the word count (lack thereof tbh), but like...im tryin lol 
> 
> Uhh anyways, if you’ve managed to make it this far into the story, y’all know the drill lol. Have any questions, comment! I will probs comment back at some point lol
> 
> Anyways, onto the story!!!

Roman glared at Emile, who sat across from him in the carriage, looking out the window. 

He sighed loudly, before finally speaking, "I think you've made a terrible mistake, here." 

Emile turned back to Roman, raising a tired eyebrow, "Really? And why's that?" 

Roman smiled, "Because I've never met you before in my /life/, I have no idea who you are.” Roman smiled a bit wider, “And my family is going to be looking for me."

Emile narrowed his eyes, "/I'm sorry/?" 

Roman raised his hands slightly in surrender, now glaring. Thomas' glare was /far/ too similar to this man's. "My name is Roman. Roman Kingsley. I don't know who you are, but I'm fairly certain the one you're looking for /isn't/ me."

At Roman's words, Emile turned pale, almost white. "Roman." He let out a strangled noise which might've been a sob or a laugh, Roman wasn't sure. "You're /alive/. He was /right/." 

If Roman hadn't been looking directly at Emile, he would've done a double-take. "Wait--what? /Who/ was right?" 

Emile only laughed again, "You survived Ravenhale. The Forsaken Town, you /survived/." 

Roman could /feel/ his heart beating. Why was he so scared? "/How do you know that/?" Roman knew his eyes would be glowing slightly by now - he could feel the magic racing through his blood, begging to be released in the wake of his surging emotions. (What emotions, you may ask. Well, even Roman wasn't sure. Fear, probably. Throw in a bit of terror and anxiety for flavor, bake at 350 for three hours, and serve with a nice side of curiosity)

Emile opened his mouth to answer, still looking at Roman like he'd just risen from the dead (who knows, maybe for Emile, Roman really /had/), but before he could, the carriage screeched to a halt. Roman heard loud curses from Remy and the other guards before the door to the carriage was suddenly /glowing/. 

Then it was ripped off. 

Roman looked at the sudden hole that was staring him in the face in surprise. He wondered what had done such damage to the carriage. It certainly hadn't been him. 

Though it probably would have if Emile hadn't started such an…/interesting/ conversation. 

Roman, who'd still been staring at the gaping hole, shot a glare over at Emile, "We're not done here, /Emile/." 

Roman peered out, not having to look far to find the source of the semi-contained carnage, all fear dissipating in seconds. He didn’t have to be afraid anymore. 

Virgil was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, if you have any questions, comments, etc, pls comment them! I am bored out of my skull and procrastinating physics work!!!
> 
> Thank you for reading!!!!! Love y’all!!!!


	16. Ch 15: Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's arrived and Roman's happy - for a while.

Over the past month, Logan and Patton had been rather affectionate with Roman, kissing him (behind Thomas' back) whenever he felt like it, often curling up with them for simple cuddles. But Virgil…he showed his affections in other ways. Of course he was just as dear to the rest of them, but…Roman couldn't help but feel like he was /missing/ something - like Virgil was holding something back. Roman didn't really care - he loved Virgil and Virgil loved him, it was simple - though he was curious as to the reason why Virgil had been so hesitant to be affectionate with him (read: to kiss the living daylights out of him) since he didn't seem to have the same problem with the others. 

If Roman had to guess, it would have been because Virgil knew what every first-kiss seemed to do to him. How each one brought back memories, ones that /hurt/ whenever Roman remembered them. Virgil never wanted to hurt Roman, so he was holding back. He always wanted to protect Roman. 

That was probably why he was here, hovering and glowing and looking /very/ intimidating. 

It /had/ been a cloudy day, but when Roman saw Virgil, looking every inch the celestial being he was, it was like the sky had opened just for them. Roman beamed, clambering out of the partially-wrecked carriage and sprinting towards his Angel. 

Virgil’s glow dimmed as he lightly touched back down on the soft earth and his wings folded into his back again, but his smile only widened. And even though the supernatural glow had faded, the cloud cover had broken and shone across the whole road. 

Roman ran the last few feet towards Virgil, then took a running leap, arms winding around Virgil’s neck. For a moment, Roman feared that they’d fall, but Virgil used the momentum to swing Roman around, laughing at the smaller man’s following shrieks. 

Virgil slowed to a stop, setting Roman back on the ground as gently as could be. Roman stared up at Virgil’s impossibly silver eyes. 

“Thanks for the rescue, Angel.” 

Virgil’s eyes, his beautiful, beautiful eyes, flickered down to Roman’s lips. Something shone in the angel’s eyes - longing, Roman realized, and want. Roman nearly whined when Virgil began to pull away. 

Instead, Roman grabbed Virgil by the lapels and tugged him down slightly. “You’re not getting away from me that easy, Angel.” 

Roman closed the distance and /finally/ kissed his Angel. 

Roman allowed his eyes to slip closed as he focused only on Virgil. God above, this was wonderful. Virgil’s lips were softer than Roman expected, and he...he tasted like the lip balm Roman had gotten for him a week or two before. Roman smiled, and Virgil drew back a bit, leaning his forehead against Roman’s and sighing wistfully. 

“Oh, Roman....” 

Roman smirked, leaning in just a bit further, “Oh, /Virgil/.”

Virgil’s eyes flew wide, pupils blown large with desire, and he leaned into another kiss. This one wasn’t nearly as harried and needy, but slow and almost lazy. They knew that there would be no need to rush, as they had all the time in the world, just as they had all the thousands of times before —

Roman screamed, he couldn’t help it, the sudden pain in his head was too intense. This wasn’t like anything he’d felt before, not when he’d kissed Logan or even Patton. This hurt /so much/. It was like his head was being shattered into pieces, each one a different life Roman had lived. He screamed again. 

Roman vaguely registered that he’d been laid on the ground, colors swirling above him. Blue, green, brown, blue, green, brown, silver? Blue? What? 

Oh, god above, everything hurt. Was that sound the ringing in his ears or an actual person speaking to him? Roman couldn’t really tell. 

Roman tried to focus through the pain. What were they saying? “-an. Roman, it’s okay. It’s okay, I'm here. Just relax.” Roman did his best to relax, but the pain in his head just seemed to get worse. 

He whimpered pathetically, a high keening that he didn’t entirely mean to make. 

“Oh, Roman, I’m /so sorry/ I let this happen to you. You'll be okay. I promise, you'll be okay.” 

Roman wanted to sit up, to hug whoever this person was that was so worried about him. He wanted to assure them that it would all be okay. He wanted to be /fine/ so that he could make sure that the others were fine, too. 

But he couldn't. The pain was too much for him, and Roman couldn't /handle it/. Of course he couldn’t, he was never strong enough. He wasn't enough to be there for the men he loved, he wasn't enough to help the man who had taken him in so long ago, and he wasn't enough to save his family. 

He just wasn't /enough./. 

Roman’s eyes slipped closed, and he fell into the Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	17. Ch 16: A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan arrives, and a discovery is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. 
> 
> I know, this chapters late. I’m really sorry. The fic also hasn’t been edited - sorry about that too. 
> 
> Things have been...pretty shitty, lately, ngl. I won’t bore any of you with the details, this isn’t supposed to be a therapy session, but let’s just say my mental health isn’t being flushed down the toilet - it’s already floating around in the sewers with Nemo and Pennywise (we love making jokes to hide the pain lol). 
> 
> I promise, promise, promise that I’ll get to answering all your comments soon. I want y’all to know that every time I opened my email to see a new notification, I had to stop myself from crying. It really means a lot that some of you seem to like this weird, badly edited story just as much as I do. 
> 
> I’ve also been working on the lore too, and I really like where I’m headed with it, so that’ll be cool if I can write it into the story lol, if not, I’ll find some place to stick it in. 
> 
> Anyways, enough of my sad and lonely rambling lol, onto the story :)

Logan would never forget when he appeared next to the mostly-ruined carriage. 

After his…interaction with Thomas, Logan had begun windjumping. Windjumping, essentially, was teleportation. It was far slower than Virgil's favored mode of transportation, but it was efficient and effective nonetheless. 

Logan was following a fair distance behind Virgil, relying mostly on his sense of the others and their Beacon-stones to guide him in the correct direction. After having spent so long around them, it was almost a second nature to Logan to watch out for Patton and Virgil and…Roman. 

Logan sighed internally, still focusing most of his energy on his magic. Roman's situation was just so damn /complicated/. When the Blessing had gone awry, Logan, Patton, and Virgil had done their best to jump in and help. But magic was a fickle thing. The magic that was being poured into Roman…Romulus…well, it didn’t do its job. In the end, there wasn't much that they /could/ do to help him. They just had to watch…. 

Logan shook his head. It would only be one more jump before he reached Roman and Virgil, and he needed to be prepared for whatever he'd find. 

He was whispering the final spell under his breath when a scream ripped through the air. 

"Roman." Logan abandoned the spell, feeling the magic around him fizzle out, and sprinted along the turn of the road, stopping short at what he saw. 

Taking shelter behind a half-ruined carriage was a contingency of Pyrrian soldiers, split between staring at Logan and the two figures on the other side of the carriage. The other two…the other two were the ones that made Logan's breath catch. 

Virgil, glowing slightly and with tears streaming down his face, was cradling Roman's limp body close to his chest. 

Logan stumbled closer, making a noise that was somewhere between a moan and a whine. 

Virgil's head shot up, eyes completely golden. "Logan." His voice reverberated with barely-contained power. 

Logan fell to his knees just in front of Virgil and Roman, struggling to reign in his own emotions. He closed his eyes and spoke, voice hoarse, "What…what happened?" 

"He remembered. I was stupid, I thought it would be okay. He remembered and it hurt him and I couldn't do anything." 

Logan opened his eyes, not even startled to see that his vision was swimming with tears. "He's alive, though." He clenched his fists, "He's alive, and that means we have a chance." Logan edged forward, brushing aside a bit of hair that had fallen into Roman's face. "We have a chance."

Virgil shuddered, and it didn't take long for Logan to realize that the angel was sobbing. "I thought this time would be different! I thought - now that his magic is so powerful again…. I'm /so tired/, Lo. I'm so tired of this. I just…I just want this to stop…." 

Logan took hold of Virgil's hand and squeezed it tight. 

"Uhh, s'cuse me?" 

A sudden voice rose up behind Logan, startling him enough that he leapt to his feet, spinning around to meet the owner of the voice. 

It was one of the men from the capital, but not a soldier. Logan stood tall, giving himself a good foot over the man, hissing defensively. "Get /back/." 

The man immediately backed up, raising his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Just…please, what happened to him?" 

Logan deflated slightly, eyes still narrowed in suspicion. "Why should I tell you?" 

The man sighed slightly, but his face gave Logan pause; it was the face of a man who was /tired/ and beginning to wear down. 

(It was the face Logan saw every time he looked in the mirror)

"We care about him. He's the long-lost brother of Prince Remus of Pyrria."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! Love y’all


	18. Ch 17: Additions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They begin to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!!! 
> 
> Oh oof, sorry this is so late, I was editing the story, and then answering all your comments on the last few chapters, and then I remembered that I hadn’t even uploaded today, so...here we are lol. 
> 
> Yes! I did start the editing process!!! You might notice the story summary and the title have changed, along with the tags on the story itself. I’m planning on every day I’ll go ahead and edit one chapter until I’m done...don’t know how long that’s actually gonna last, but we’ll go for it lmao. 
> 
> You guys....oh god, I cannot thank you enough. Y’all are so sweet and kind and just fuckin amazing, like holy s hit, I never expected to have a bunch of basically strangers give me - /me/ - so much encouragement about my writing. It honestly means more than the world to me. 
> 
> Thank you, so much, all of you. You guys are the best.

Logan's jaw nearly dropped. "Remus…Remus is alive?" 

The man smiled tightly, "Alive, living well, and being as much of a little shit as he possibly can." 

Well, that startled a laugh out of Logan for sure. 

The man smiled a bit more relaxedly. "My name is Emile. It's a pleasure to meet you…?" 

Logan narrowed his eyes again, "You may call me Logic, the one behind me may be called Anxiety." 

Emile actually laughed, "Keep your secrets then, Logic. I can promise you, though, I'd never do anything to harm someone Roman so obviously holds dear." 

There was silence for a moment. "He's remembering." Logan looked away from Emile's curious gaze, "He's lived so many lives and he's remembering them all at once. It's proving too much for his mind to handle." 

There was another pause, and one of the Pyrrhian knights stepped up behind Emile, whispering something that made the small man smile gratefully before turning back to the Fae. 

"Well, that certainly puts a bit of a damper on the mood." Emile's upbeat tone set Logan laughing slightly again. The small man continued. "These men and I were sent along with Prince Remus to travel around the villages near here, namely Lunaris and Alnwick, but, as I said before, Prince Remus rather enjoys giving me heart attacks on the regular, and decided to run off. We'll most likely find him on our way back to Kilspire, lounging up a tree or some such." Emile hesitated for a moment, but set his jaw and continued, "Half of these men will continue to search the surrounding towns for the Prince, just in case, while the others will start traveling back to the Capital. However, the Captain and I would like to assist you in helping Roman in whatever ways we can." 

Logan was baffled. These humans were faced with a slightly-frantic Fae, an emotionally-charged angel, and the revelation that not only was their Prince's brother alive, but somehow immortal and possibly d--no, nope, not going there--somehow immortal and now laying unconscious in the arms of said angel. 

And they barely batted an eye. 

This Prince of theirs had to have gotten up to some incredible schemes in the time they'd known him. 

Logan turned slightly, silently asking for Virgil's say. 

Virgil clenched his jaw and looked past Logan to the humans. "You swear on your lives, on your god, on whatever it is that you believe in the most in this world that you will not harm Roman or any of us." 

The grim Captain gave a sharp nod, while Emile gave his verbal agreement. 

Virgil nodded, and the glow still about him flared for a moment before dimming slightly. 

Logan nodded to himself, thinking now. It was hard, even though they were powerful, it would take more power than Virgil, Logan, and-- "Patton." Logan whirled around to face Virgil's suddenly stricken face. "Patton doesn't know." 

Virgil nodded, looking down at Roman. He shifted slightly then stood, holding Roman close to him. "I can't fly us back, but I can walk." 

Logan smiled slightly, "No, that won’t be necessary, Virgil." Virgil was about to protest, but Logan had already turned, now facing the two humans, "Stand aside." After the two had scrambled out of Logan's way, he took a deep breath and lifted his arms, slowly, muscles trembling with effort. The earth beneath their feet trembled as small vines broke through the dirt. The vines crawled up the wheels of the carriage, and soon, the whole thing had been covered in green, the still-attached horses standing by calmly. There was a beat of stillness as the vines stopped growing, almost as if the world was holding its breath. 

Then, Logan brought down his arms. 

The vines crumbled and fell away, leaving behind an almost perfectly-repaired carriage. The dark wood almost seemed flawless, and except for the glass window that was now some sort of semi-transparent amber-like substance, it was nearly indistinguishable from the original. 

Logan shook himself, the flow of his eyes dimming. He smiled over at Virgil, "You don't have to walk back now. There's a carriage again. 

Virgil sighed, shaking his head and attempting to hide his smile, "Yes, yes, well done, Logan. Now sit your ass down in there and /rest/, for goodness sakes."Logan’s gaze slid to Roman, too-still in Virgil’s arms. Virgil smiled slightly and continued, “Don’t worry about Roman, Lo, we’ll be along in a minute.” Logan nodded and shuffled over to the carriage, fumbling with the now-wooden latch for a moment before slumping into the corner of one of the seats and immediately closing his eyes. 

Virgil smiled fondly and turned back to the humans, gesturing them forward. "C'mon, we oughtta get going. If you don't mind, could one of you drive this thing? I'd like to keep an eye on these two." 

Emile smiled, reaching up and patting Virgil on the shoulder, calmly meeting his gaze. "We'll take care of the journey, you look after them." 

Virgil grinned, "Thank you, Emile." He turned and gently laid Roman across the seat opposite from Logan before turning back to Emile, "There's a house at one end of the town, one with large white and red rosebushes out front. There the road seems to end, but just to the right of it there's a path that leads to the house." 

"Don't worry, son, we'll get you boys home." Emile looked almost horrified by what he'd called Virgil, and moved to apologize, but Virgil cut him off before he could even begin. 

"Thanks, Emile. Thank Remy for me too," Virgil only looked amused at Emile's vaguely shocked look - one that bordered on scared, and Virgil realized that Emile was far more intelligent than he let on. "Don't worry,” Virgil said, smile softening, “I couldn't use it against him even if I wanted to. Yours either, for that matter. Neither was told to me directly. Though I'd appreciate you keeping that little piece of information kinda secret; I enjoy being able to scare the shit outta people, sometimes." Virgil lazily gave Emile a two-fingered salute before climbing into the carriage, seating himself carefully beside Logan and pulling the worn-out Fae to lean against him, also keeping a careful eye on Roman’s prone form. 

Emile stared for another moment before his face split into a small smile. "No worries here. White and red rosebushes, got it. We'll get you home." He closed the door before Virgil could even think to respond, the carriage jerking to a start soon after. 

Virgil forced himself to relax, still on guard, but less tense. 

His boys needed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for readin!!! Hope you liked it!!!!!


	19. Ch 18: Getting Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and the others arrive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all!!! 
> 
> Okay, first of all, college applications SUCK. Seriously. Go to a trade school or some shit, just don’t apply for these money-suckers. It’s eighty goddamned dollars to apply for o n e. This is bullshit. 
> 
> Sigh, ranting aside, instead of, yknow, spending time on this fic, I painted for nine hours straight yesterday. Hoh boy, it took a /while/ - guess it doesn’t help that I’m doin my best to avoid my mother. Goddamn y’all, I hate just about everything rn. 
> 
> Also, (and idk if anyone actually reads these this far down) but if college shit doesn’t die down soon, this lil (big) fic’ll have to go on hiatus. Imma do literally everything in my power to bust out chapters, but they won’t be as long as I promised, but uhh I’ve already learned the hard way I can’t survive on two hours of sleep and an energy drink. Every day for a week. 
> 
> Anyways, there are actually warnings for this one, so: 
> 
> WARNING WARNING HEY YOU YEAH YOU READ THESE: 
> 
> —An (unsurprising) amount of cursing, aka LOTS 
> 
> —Very brief, not detailed panic attack (Virgil’s v stressed
> 
> Anyways, talking aside!!! Onto the story!!!!!!!!

When Thomas heard hoofbeats outside his home, his first thought was that he was hearing things, but Patton seemed to have heard them too. 

"Hoofbeats?" Patton turned towards the door, "Do you hear hoofbeats?" He made to stand, but Thomas did so first, gesturing for Patton to stay put. When Patton made to argue - he was thousands of years older than Thomas, he was a /demon/ for crying out loud, there were /millions/ of other reasons why /he/ should be the one checking the door - Thomas leveled a glare on the demon worthy of the gods themselves. 

So Patton stayed put. 

Thomas slowly edged towards the window, peeking out from behind the curtain, eyes widening at the sight that met his eyes. 

"Oh, /fuck/." Thomas wrenched the door open to Virgil on the doorstep, carrying a limp Roman and looking rather grave. Standing behind him was Logan, with two others that neither Patton nor Thomas knew. "Virgil, what the /shit/ happened?" 

Virgil smiled thinly, edging through the doorway as Thomas moved aside, "Long story." Thomas watched as Roman was laid on the couch in the family room, beginning to grow frantic, but was quickly distracted by the other three individuals in the room. 

Logan seemed almost…/hungover/. He was blinking at the light (that really wasn't very bright at all) and it looked like he had a massive headache. Just behind him were the other two people. Ones that Thomas had never met before. 

"Who the shit are you? Logan, are you okay? What the /fuck/ happened to Roman?" Thomas' gaze switched from person to person. Before his thoughts could spiral too much, the shorter of the two strangers stepped forward. 

"My name is Emile. The Captain and myself mistook Roman for someone else - someone very dear to us. Then…well, we're not entirely certain as to what happened to him. Something about remembering?" Emile sighed heavily, removing his glasses to rub tiredly at his forehead, "I don't know. All I know is that your boys are in some kind of trouble, and Remy and I want to help in whatever way we can." 

Thomas stared, slightly open-mouthed, at the strang--at Emile, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. He pursed his lips, nodding and turning to Virgil and Logan. Logan still seemed to be a bit out of it, but he at least didn't look like he was about to hurl on the floor. 

"Lo, you wanna lay down for a little while? I don't mean to offend, but you /kinda/ look like shit." Thomas' attempt at a happy tone, he was sure, fell rather flat, but no one mentioned it. 

Logan sighed and massaged his forehead, "No, Thomas, thank you, I am quite alright. I simply..." He trailed off, looking vaguely sheepish. 

Virgil snorted, arms crossed, "You were dumb and over-exerted yourself." 

Logan glared at the angel as Patton sputtered, "Logan! You're not supposed to do that!" The smaller demon shot up from his seat and approached Logan, who glared even more at Virgil. 

"It was /necessary/." Logan gritted out. "You can't expect me to sit idly by when I can do /something/ to help!" Logan jerked his gaze away from the others, doing his best to not sound broken (and failing). "I needed to do /something/." 

Everyone was silent as they took in Logan's words. 

"What happened to Roman?" Logan shot Thomas a grateful look for the change in subject, which made Thomas smile ruefully. He hadn't intended to help Logan, he was just worried sick about Roman, but if it helped his son's boyfriend...well, he'd take it. 

Virgil, meanwhile, had tensed up, looking away from the others. "It was my fault." Now Virgil sounded like he was the one about to break into pieces. "I went to rescue him, even though he could've gotten himself out if he had wanted to." Virgil smiled sadly, now fidgeting with the edges of his shirt. "I went and basically destroyed the carriage he was in, and he leapt out and hugged me and it was all happy and /he/ was happy--" Virgil was rambling in his anxiety, eyes now closed and fidgeting more than ever. "We were happy and I /wanted/ to kiss him but I knew it would hurt him so I tried to pull away but he pulled me back in and it was *wonderful and--" 

Virgil's voice had started to layer over itself, doubling and tripling in volume and intensity. Thomas moved to stand slightly between humans from the capital and the angel. 

"He tasted like strawberries and it didn't hurt him - I didn't hurt him - and I was so, /so/ happy, and we kissed again and then he was screaming in my arms and he was hurting /so bad/ and I /couldn't stop it/!" Virgil ducked his head at the last words, gripping at his own arms as if to distract himself from the reality he faced. 

A slight breeze had been blowing through the house, probably because of the still-open door, but as Virgil began /glowing/, the breeze turned to a strong, powerful wind, whipping everyone’s hair about their faces. 

Fuck, /fuck/, this wasn’t good. If Virgil’s emotions ran unchecked for long, his powers would react. That wouldn’t be good for anyone. 

Thomas glanced over at the others, at Patton and Logan, who were exchanging worried glances, and Thomas knew that there wasn't much either would be able to do. 

So he acted. 

"Virgil!" He called, stepping closer to the angel. Virgil whipped around, eyes glowing like fire. Even so, Thomas could see the pain that they held. "It's /okay/.”

Virgil /roared/, “*No it’s not! Roman’s hurt! Because of /me/!” Tears gathered in the angel’s eyes, threatening to fall. 

Thomas fought against the wind, yelling just as loudly back at the angel, allowing his anger to lend power to his voice. “Roman doesn't blame you!” Thomas screamed, “No one blames you/, Virgil! Not me, not Patton or Logan or anyone here! No one except /you/!" 

The wind immediately stopped, but everything seemed in place. Emile and Remy looked around in awe (and was that a hint of wonder?). Logan and Patton, meanwhile, stared at Thomas. 

Thomas ignored them all, focusing only on Virgil. He risked another step forward. "I'm not lying to you, Virgil. I know that's what you're thinking, but that's not true. This, what happened to Roman, is /not/ your fault.”

Virgil stared for another moment before his face crumpled, and with it whatever effect his magic was having on the world. Thomas softened, taking one final step so that he was directly in front of Virgil. When he opened his arms, it took only a moment for Virgil to launch himself into them. 

Thomas hooked his chin over the angel's shoulder. Yes, Virgil was taller than Thomas. Yes, the angel was undoubtedly at least a thousand years older than Thomas. Yes, he was still glowing and brimming over with his power. 

But Thomas wasn't going to let one of his boys cry when he could comfort them. 

Thomas simply held Virgil, lightly rubbing the angel’s back as he sobbed. The angel's cries sent spasms of pain through Thomas' chest. 

Eventually, though, Virgil calmed himself. He sniffled, awkwardly rubbing at the tear-tracks that had made their way down his face. "'M sorry," he rasped, refusing to meet Thomas' eyes, "R'man's in trouble, an' I'm sittin' here cryin' like 'n idiot."

Virgil jumped at the light tap of Thomas' knuckles on the back of his head. Thomas smiled fondly - and slightly sadly - at the reaction, patting Virgil's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Virge. Honestly, if I wasn't repressing everything right now, I'd probably be doing the same." 

Virgil gaped for a moment, eyes wide, "That--Thomas! That's not healthy!" 

Thomas shrugged, trying (and failing) to keep a smile off his face. "Maybe so, but…" He paused, trying to find his words, "It's all I can do anymore." He patted Virgil once more on the shoulder before moving to sit on the floor near Roman's head, reaching over and brushing a bit of Roman's hair out of the young man's face. 

Thomas sighed heavily, bowing his head for a moment before turning back to the others in the room. "So," He began, eyes shining with something more than just tears, "How do we fix this?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all so much for supporting this story. You all are amazing, and nO, I WONT STOP SAYING IT!!!!!! YALL ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!


	20. Ch 19: Their One Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan finds what could be their chance...their only chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY HEY ATTENTION YALL!! There’ll be a one-week-break in this fic, meaning that next Sunday, I won’t be updating. I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY!!! This week is when my college app is due, I’ve got more than a few projects coming up, and I’m stressed outta my gd mind. I just need one week where I can focus solely on those, and then I’ll be back and abso-fucking-lutely r a r i n g to go on this story. 
> 
> But that’s next week. 
> 
> I’ve been w a i t i n g to post this chapter foreverrr. It might seem like (another) filler, but for me, this is the turning point. After this chapter, shit gets /real/, and I’ve been lookin forward to it basically since I started writing this thing. I’m really excited lol.
> 
> That, however, is the story that’ll start two weeks from now. This week, there aren’t any warnings, so enjoy the story!!! Love y’all!!!!

Logan stared, defeated, at the ceiling. He had barely spoken in the past hour. The others, Patton and Virgil and Thomas had been throwing out ideas like no tomorrow, even (what were their names again?) Remy and Emile had given some suggestions as to how to help Roman. 

Logan sighed for the umpteenth time, clenching his fists. Why was it always Roman? Why was Roman always the one that got hurt, that ended up laying on the couch, breathing shallowly, and totally unresponsive. Logan shook off that mindset and turned back in to what Thomas was saying, "--in Myrefall. Xi has this /huge/ garden, it's either magical or /very/ medicinal, and xiy might be able to help Roman? Somehow?" Logan glanced over to see Thomas running his hand through his already-mussed hair. 

"'S not gonna work, Thomas." Logan turned back to the ceiling, not even bothering to hide his defeated tone. "This isn't something that a magical spell or thrice-damned narcotics would be able to cure. It’s why Virgil couldn’t heal him.” The angel had tried, harder than he probably should have, and even though the old scar on the underside of Roman’s chin had disappeared and the scab from where he’d accidentally scraped his arm on the doorway a few days prior had faded away, Roman hadn’t even stirred. 

Virgil had fallen to his knees in exhaustion, still latched on to Roman, before he finally allowed Patton to guide him away to a chair across the room, hiding his frustrated tears from all the others. 

Logan continued where he had left off, “This…” The fae raised his hands and scrubbed at his face, glasses pushed to his forehead. “This is something that I don’t even know if it’s /possible/ to be cured. When the Fairy Queen—” Logan froze mid-sentence. 

Slowly, Logan lifted his hands from his face, staring blankly ahead. He wasn’t even paying attention to the ceiling or even the others anymore, mind whirling. 

“The Fairy Queen.” Logan said, finally turning his gaze on the others in the room, still not fully seeing them, though. “She was the one that started the Blessing. She’s the one that finished it in time to save Romulus and Regulus. She…she might be able to…” Logan cursed, “‘Isk! Nenk aud err!” Logan scrambled to his feet, shaking his hands lightly. “She might be able to…’isk! D’tha wusnr!” Logan cussed again in the language of old, scrubbing at his eyes again. “I suppose we could either redo it or modify it, in some way. We /have/ to be close. I can /feel it/.” 

Patton stepped forward resting a hand on Logan’s arm. Logan barely noticed the tension draining from his shoulders, still too preoccupied with his slowly-forming idea. “Logan. Take a breath, slow down. We can’t always follow your ideas, would you explain them to me?” 

Logan nodded absently, “In just a moment, I promise.” He turned suddenly, facing the men from Kilspire. “You. How close are we to the Forest?” 

The two glanced at each other, then the Captain spoke, “Look babes, you’re gonna have to be a little more specific than that, there’s a hell of a lot of forests here.” 

Logan sighed, tapping the fingers of one hand against his thigh rapidly while he combed through his hair again with the other. “Not lowercase, you fool. The Forest! Capitalized! The Fae’s Forest!” He only received blank stares. 

Logan groaned loudly, now scrubbing at his face with his hands. Just as he was about to speak, Thomas responded, “We’re pretty damn near to it, L.” Thomas had set his jaw, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, but now he turned his head and stared at Logan. Again, Logan was foolishly reminded of how Thomas would be very, very powerful, if only because of his strong will and potent emotions.... Logan was yanked from his thoughts as Thomas continued. “We’re just about on the border of it now. The forest itself has grown quite a bit, but the actual borders to Her lands have remained the same.” 

Logan was floored. How did /Thomas/ know that?? It shouldn’t have been /possible/ for a human with no prior connection to the Fae to even get close to the Forest, much less be aware of its borders. It /wasn’t possible/. 

Logan, once again, pulled himself from his thoughts, nodding at Thomas in thanks. (He could think about this /later/) "Yes, good. That is more than satisfactory. If we're just on the borders, it will take only about three days to get there." Logan grinned, eyes wide and slightly glassy. He stared up at Patton and Virgil again. "We can make it." 

Virgil's voice shook slightly, "Logan. The shit're you talking about?" 

Logan nodded again, still almost vibrating from the adrenaline. "Okay, yes, right." 

He turned to Emile and Remy, "Roman was made immortal, he’s basically like your legends of the Phoenix — magnificent animal by the way, though totally different from your myths, he—” Logan shook himself abruptly, focusing back on the topic at hand. “The spell was meant to make him—Roman—totally immortal but his brother interrupted and spliced the effects, we’ve found him in every life he’s lived, but he can’t handle the memories, so he’s dying, but I just thought of a way to fix it, got it? Good.” Logan turned away from his rapid-fire rant without even getting a response from the humans, who were now gaping like goldfish. 

In the process, he turned again to face Virgil and Patton. Virgil was even more tense than before, and Patton had grabbed the angel's hand to comfort him. 

"The Queen," Logan continued, shaking his hands to get some of his rogue energy out, "She can do the Blessing again. Roman's /stronger/ now, he'd be able to withstand it. Virgil, I know you've sensed it, Patton, you as well. He's a veritable well of untapped, incredibly potent /power/. /He can take it/." 

Almost before the end of his rant, Virgil was shaking his head, "Logan, we /can't/, even /Roman/ isn't strong enough to withstand something like that a second time." 

Logan faltered for a moment, "So we redo it." Logan stood to his full height, setting his jaw, "We undo the first, and we - we redo it. The only problem with stacking them would be the sheer amount of magic constantly pressing on him. If we get rid of the first layer, it won’t be so overwhelming. We can just do a second one. We can do a second Blessing. He'd survive that, and we'd have our Roman back." 

Patton's breath whooshed out of him, and he tightened his grip on Virgil's hand, looking over hopefully. 

Virgil, meanwhile, had just about frozen in place. "Logan, the /risks/ of that--"

"Yes, I know." 

"If the Blessing fails after it's been undone…we risk losing Roman forever. He'll not come back /at all/ if it's messed up. You know that." 

"I know, Virgil. Believe me, I do." 

"And you're really--"

"Yes." 

Virgil pursed his lips together, taking in everyone and everything around him. Logan, desperate and pleading, hair unkempt and glasses askew. Patton, hopeful yet guarded, God above, Virgil would do almost anything to keep that hope in his eyes. Thomas was still avoiding the conversation expertly, Virgil didn't know why. Remy and Emile had begun talking together quietly, and if Virgil listened closely, he could hear a conversation not about the magic that had so suddenly been revealed to them, but ways that they could /help/. 

And then there was Roman. 

Virgil allowed his eyes to linger for a moment on Roman, taking in the details that he'd already burned into his memory. 

If things were still /normal/, if they weren't so messed up, Roman would probably be dancing around the room with Patton to music that only they could hear. He would laugh and laugh, leaning on Patton just a bit as he fought to catch his breath. He'd glance over at Logan and Virgil, who would be cuddled together on the couch, happily watching their loves enjoy themselves. Roman would pout and conspire for a moment with Patton before they both bounded over and pulled Virgil and Logan to their feet. Roman would make up some excuse about why they should all dance together, citing some silly and fake philosopher or physician and failing to hide that beautiful smile behind his hand. 

But things weren't normal. 

Everything was /wrong/. 

Roman was still, too still. When he was awake, Roman was constantly moving, tapping a foot or fiddling with his hands. Even when he was asleep, he would dream and move about. He'd toss and turn throughout the night, sometimes even mumbling. He was never still, at least not for long. 

But now…now he was. Roman was still, breathing shallow, but chest rising and falling steadily. He hadn't moved at all since he'd…since he'd passed out in Virgil's arms. 

Virgil yanked himself out of that line of thought. Roman would be /fine/, he would. 

Although…even if this Roman did end up fine, he'd just keep getting worse and worse every life, until Virgil and the others would finally just…leave. It would hurt - it would hurt /so much/ - but it would be better than hurting the one that they loved over and over and over again. 

Virgil turned back to the silence of the others, setting his jaw and looking up at Logan, nodding sharply, "It's our one chance. Let's do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being AMAZING readers here. I love y’all, and I definitely could never do this without ya!!!
> 
> As always, I’ll be lookin our for your comments lol, that’ll never change tbh. 
> 
> Also, a huge thank you to my wonderful partner, I couldn’t do this without you, sunshine. I haven’t said it enough, but it’s true. Love ya 💖


	21. ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part one is today, part two tomorrow (Sunday), part three Monday. 
> 
> I won’t keep you waiting forever ;) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this lil three-parter! (Toldja I’d be back and rarin ta go lol)

What's going on? 

Where am I?

What is this place? 

I don't like it here....

I want to go back. 

I want to go home. 

... 

Wait...what's that? 

What?!

Wait...wait!!

Wait, /no/!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See ya tomorrow ;)


	22. ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta admit y’all, it feels real good to be back here lol. Can’t tell ya all how excited I was to actually be able to read comments again lmao. Also, I’ve got good news and bad news. 
> 
> Good news? I finished my college scholarship app! 😬 it’s a rlly good one (probably my only chance of getting out of this hellhole tbh), and I get the results back in less than two weeks...so that’s fun lol. It’ll either be the best or the worst b-day present in history. 
> 
> Bad news? Oof, there’s a lot. I got only one more chapter written during this break, my life is still kinda falling apart at the seams, and I might be moving across the gd country soon, so that’s /fun/. Sigh, whatever, I’ll figure it out lol. 
> 
> Two things before ya go. The new Asides ep?? Oh my GOD my lil stanning heart could heart-ly (I blame Patton for the pun) bear it!!! It was so good!!!!!!! Jeeeezzzz it was awesome. Gah, anyways, second thing: 
> 
> HEY WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER YALL, SERIOUSLY READ THEM PLS   
> —temporary memory loss  
> —chest pain?   
> —mentions of death/dying   
> —lotsss of cursing   
> —temporary major/minor character death (kinda? It’s not technically one of the Sides, but he’s p important to the plot tbh)   
> —Rebirth...like a Phoenix....hint hint 
> 
> I will put a base summary in the next “part” of this, so PLEASE do not feel obligated to read this for plot purposes, it’ll all be explained again.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!!!

Romulus woke slowly, feeling the sunlight on his face and the soft pillow under his head. 

What…what had happened to him? What was that dream?

There was a light breeze blowing across his face. God above, that felt good. 

Slowly, ever so slowly, more of Romulus' senses seemed to return. He could smell something…sharp, in the air, like some sort of citrus or spice, but…different. It smelled like /magic/, Romulus realized. Romulus could also taste something metallic and…wrong, in the back of his throat. Everything was sore, too. Again, Romulus wondered what had happened to him. Slowly, Romulus managed to open his eyes, just managing to stop himself from closing them again at the bright sunlight streaming in through the open ceiling about ten feet above him.

Romulus turned his aching head to the side and startled at the sight of three people slumped on a sofa together. Romulus hesitated to use the word "men" to describe them, as they were three of the most ethereal and beautifully incorporeal beings he had ever seen. One, clad in a dark purple linen shirt, had large wings - both glossy black and beautiful - mostly folded against his back. Another had small horns peeking out of his hair, which had been pulled back close to his scalp in a decent-sized, curly ponytail, along with small fangs that could be seen in his softly snoring mouth. The third was tall and gangly, with large eyes, beautifully dark hair, and pointed ears. 

Something in Romulus warmed at the sight of them, and he found himself wishing that they were nearer. Who were they to him? Romulus couldn't quite remember, though it seemed like it was on the tip of his tongue. 

Romulus didn't quite feel up to actually forcing himself upright and moving, so he contented himself with etching every detail of the three on the sofa into his mind. The one with the wings was obviously an angel, the one with the horns a demon, but the other? Maybe a shapeshifter or a changeling? 

The realization that these were beings of unimaginable power didn't scare Romulus, which he found curious. He had to have been familiar with these people, if the still-lingering warmth in his chest was anything to go by. 

Romulus felt an odd stab of pain in his chest, somewhere around his lungs, and gasped for air, suddenly finding it rather hard to breath. He coughed loudly, failing to muffle it in the thin blanket covering him up to his chest. Like a flash, the three on the couch jerked awake.

"What the fwuh?" The tall one with piercing blue eyes - now wide and, frankly, scared - slurred his words, still half-captive in the throes of sleep. 

The small one with the horns had all but fallen off the sofa and was now blinking up at Romulus with odd, yet comforting, red eyes. 

The one with the wings had nearly thrown himself at Romulus' bed, proving that even while sleeping, he was on edge. He was now kneeling at Romulus' side, reaching out for him, why was he reaching out for him, what had Romulus done, was this --

The angel gently brushed a long lock of Romulus' hair back from his forehead and pressed a gentle kiss to his brow. 

And suddenly, Romulus' coughing stopped. He relished in the feeling that seemed to spread from the angel's lips. It reminded him of the warmth in his chest, comforting and kind. 

It was nice. 

Romulus felt almost as if he could reach out a hand and touch his lost memories, they were so close. 

He closed his eyes, placing his trust in the angel completely, and remembered.

The rush of memories was like a tidal wave and it almost left Romulus breathless once again, but the presence of the angel at his side helped to ground him. He remembered his family, his brother, and his three lovers. He remembered his tower, Regulus' sickness, and the beginning of the best years of his life. He remembered growing older and watching his loves stay the same, stay eternal. He remembered the Fairy Queen and the Blessing. He remembered Regulus and then /pain/, unimaginable /pain/. 

Romulus fell towards the angel, his angel, /his Virgil/. He was breathing heavily again, but was more confused than ever. "Virgil…" Romulus' voice was hoarse and near-gone. "Wha-at hap-pened? The Ble-ssing…Regu-lus…" He closed his eyes again and leaned more on Virgil. He was really comfortable….

"Hey, Princey, open those beautiful fire-eyes for me." Romulus groaned in the back of his throat and wrenched his eyes open again, staring up at Virgil's tear-filled eyes. Wait, why was he so sad now? "You can't go to sleep, Ro, you've gotta stay awake for me, okay?" 

Romulus nodded lazily, still resting against Virgil. 

The fae - because that's what Logan was, wasn't he - settled at the foot of Romulus' bed and laid a hand on Romulus' ankle, "Starlight, something went wrong with the Blessing. It…it didn't work, not the way we were expecting." Romulus stared at Logan, heart sinking as he realized what that meant. 

Patton, tail flicking under his knee-length skirt, finally lifted himself from the floor, settling on Romulus' left and pressing into him. Romulus was almost sandwiched between his angel and his demon, but he didn't mind in the slightest. "I'm sorry, honey, but we couldn't manage to make you fully immortal." Romulus tiredly reached out and laced his fingers with Patton's. "The spell worked, but only partially. When Regulus interrupted the Blessing," That's right, Regulus had thought that Romulus was being taken by the fae, tried to stop it from happening, and had almost succeeded. "You're immortal, sweetheart, but you'll exist fractured. You'll die and be reborn again and again and again." 

Romulus huffed out a laugh, squeezing weakly at Patton's fingers, "An'…Reg?" 

"Him too." 

Romulus tapped his foot against Logan's side in thanks for the answer, "'M gon' die soon, a-aren't I?" 

The silence Romulus was met with was answer enough.

He laughed weakly again, "Was a good life…" Romulus leaned further on Virgil, "St'pid of me…'sperimentin' like that…. Coulda been with you all…longer if I hadn't…." Romulus' vision was beginning to blur. There was too little time for everything that he wanted to say. They had to know how much he loved them, how sorry he was, how --

"We know, Romulus," Fuck, Virgil was crying. Fuck, they /all/ were crying. "We'll find you again. We'll find you again and again and again, however many times it takes. I /promise/." 

Fuck, Romulus was crying too, wasting valuable air on his own misery. God, air tasted so amazing. 

"We love you, Ro-Ro, so much." Patton ran a hand through Romulus' lank hair, scratching lightly at his scalp just the way Romulus had always liked so much. "We love you, and we'll keep loving you forever, just like we promised." 

Romulus' darkening eyes flickered towards where he knew Logan would be sitting, waiting. It was only as Romulus' breathing was beginning to slow and his eyes were slipping closed not of his own accord did Logan speak. "You're eternal now, Starlight, just like our love for you. We'll find you, and we'll all be happy together again. I swear it." 

Romulus smiled, using the last of his strength to send just three words through his Beacon-Stones: /I love you/. 

And he let go. 

\----------------

Romulus would never know that, as he breathed for the first time his last, the three loves of his life (lives) would scream and cry and wreak whatever havoc they could. 

He would never know that the room he had been placed in after the Blessing went wrong would be almost completely destroyed by the outpouring of suffering. 

He would never know the pain that lanced through Logan, Patton, and Virgil as Romulus' body and Beacon-Stones almost seemed to crumble away into dust. 

He would never know the agony that came with not even having a body to put a loved one to rest. 

He would never know because the others would make /damn sure/ he never found out. 

\-----------------

In the neighboring country, amongst the ash and flames of war and suffering, a squalling baby boy was born to a blacksmith and his wife. He would scream and scream and /scream/ for hours, desperately wanting for something that only his soul truly recalled. 

Later, much later, after the babe had cried himself to sleep and woken once again, later in the evening, bright fire-eyes would finally open once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, thank you all so much for reading. It means a hell of a lot that people even half-like my mad ramblings lol. Thanks, love y’all, and see ya tomorrow! <3
> 
> (Also, fun fact, this was originally written on a dare around ch 9 of this fic bc someone told me I wouldn’t be able to fit a “what the fwuh?” into a sappy, angsty mess like this. I just said “hah, fuckin /watch me/.” And I did :D )


	23. ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand this marks the end of the backstory arc lol. This has honestly been one of my favorite parts to this story so far, so it’s a little bittersweet that it’s over. 
> 
> (Even though the real story’s just about to start ;) it’s gonna be great) 
> 
> Yeah...I should be doing Physics or Calculus homework rn, but uhh nah, I’ve just been reading fanfiction for like three hours. Mostly Wing!Aus, so that’s fun. 
> 
> Anyways, no real warnings for this chapter. Honestly, it’s like ten words max so...yeah, not really a full ch, but whatever. ENJOY!!!

[PREVIOUS CH SUMMARY: 

Just after the Blessing - the spell meant to make Romulus immortal - fails, Romulus awakens in a room with the other three. At first he doesn’t remember what happened, but with Virgil’s help, his memories return. He recognizes that he’s going to die, and begins to say his goodbyes. The others tell him that even though he’s dying now, he’s still functionally immortal, and Virgil, Patton, and Logan will find him again and again, however many times it takes. 

Eventually, despite his best efforts, Romulus breathes his last. The other Immortals grieve for what they’ve lost, and they vow to never let Romulus experience it himself. 

Meanwhile, in a town ravaged by war and flames, a squalling baby boy is born, and bright fire-eyes open once again.]

Oh...so that's what happened. 

Romulus…poor Romulus. 

That must be why they always seemed so sad. 

Hmm...they're sweet. 

I want to go back. 

I don't think I can right now, though. 

I just don't want them worrying about me. 

I'll get back to them again, somehow. 

Don't worry, Virgil...Patton...Logan...I'll find you again. 

I'll come back soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 <3 <3


	24. Ch 20: Patton, Packing, and Puns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton reflects on what’s happening, Remy has questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo!
> 
> (Yes, I’ve been watching Hermitcraft far too much, don’t judge meeeee) 
> 
> Y’all. Oh my god, so much is going on rn...it’s a time lol. Suffice to say, college app results come out in three days, my birthday is in six days, and I might be moving across the country (AGAIN) in seven days. This is all important bc I legitimately might have to choose between sleeping and writing this story for the next week or so...and this might have to get pushed to the backburner. I’m not giving up on this, I have waayyyyyy too much invested in this to do that, but as much as I hate to say it, real life has to come first. 
> 
> Whatever, I’ll figure it out lol, I (usually) always do ;P 
> 
> Anyways, no real warnings for this ch - though Patton’s basically one insult away from going feral At All Times, which is kinda neat - so enjoy!!!!!!

Almost immediately after Logan shared his plan to save Roman, they began packing. They all wanted to get to the home of the Fairy Queen as quickly as they could so they could save Roman

But…Logan seemed to be working overtime. 

Patton rested against the side of the Pyrrian carriage for a moment, looking in Logan’s direction. The Fae - his Fae - had a certain frantic air about him that Patton wasn’t sure he liked. For the first time in a while, Patton felt unease boil in his stomach. If Logan was worried, it…well, it definitely couldn't be good. 

"Hey…Patton, right?" Patton turned his head so suddenly his neck cracked. Standing just to his left was the Captain - Remy, right? Patton nodded slowly, eyes narrowed. The Captain shuffled a bit in place before speaking again, "I know that the tall one, Logan…he's one of the Fae, I know that. The other one, the dark one with the wings, he's an Angel. But you…you're not. You're something else." 

Patton was suddenly struck by the inane thought that Remy was a lot like Logan. They were both smart, though in different ways, and they were unfalteringly loyal. 

“What are you? How d’you fit in with all this?” 

Patton blinked, considering his options. Could he really tell this guardsman what he truly was? Patton searched Remy’s face for a moment. There was nothing but openness in his dark face. “I know that Virgil made you swear that you wouldn’t hurt us.” Patton turned away from the guard’s slightly-confused face and stared out at the Forest. It was darkening quickly, the sun setting just behind it. “I’d like for you to know that a promise to an Angel, especially to the Last Prince of the Cherubim, is /binding/." Patton allowed his eyes to flash as he shot a grin back at Remy. "You promised. And now you’re bound to it.” 

Patton was almost expecting (read: hoping) Remy to be scared, maybe trembling just a little bit in his boots. But the Captain only raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I wasn't /planning/ to break my promise, babes, but thanks for the warning? I'm not gonna hurt you or your boos, you don’t hafta worry about that." 

…He was being honest, wasn’t he? …Damn…. "I'm the Fallen Second Prince of Thrones — I’m a demon." 

For a moment, Remy just blinked owlishly. He moved to speak, but no words came out. After a moment, the guardsman simply laughed, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. "Of course you are, babes. Oh man, I should've known." Remy smiled at Patton, still shaking his head, "Y'all were just goin' for the full set, huh?" 

Patton couldn’t help reeling in confusion, “I-I just told you I’m a /demon/, and your response is to comment on how everyone in our relationship is a different species?” Patton laughed in disbelief. “Are you daft, or do you just have a death-wish?” 

Remy rolled his eyes and patted Patton (heh) on the shoulder, moving to strap a trunk that Patton hadn’t noticed onto the side of the carriage. “I know that you can’t be very used to decency from humans, considering your species and all,” Wow. Okay. Patton appreciated the honesty, at least, though he could’ve done with a little less bluntness. “But really, babes, you think I’m gonna treat you different? C’mon. You’re such a little puffball it comes out even in your hair,” Remy tugged at a curl of Patton’s hair. “I’m not gonna treat you all weird just because you demons have a bad reputation.” 

Patton huffed and batted the human's hand away, though his small smile lessened whatever anger he tried to express. He turned again to watch the others. 

Virgil was speaking quietly with Emile in the doorway to the house, no doubt discussing the path they'd have to take to get into the forest and the travel plan at large, while simultaneously watching over Roman. They were also wrapping up some basic supplies, things that they'd not be able to find while they were traveling. 

Thomas was leaning on the fence surrounding his home, talking to a few of the townsfolk, more than likely asking them to watch over the house while he was away. 

Logan was flitting around, almost frantically checking, double-checking, and triple-checking the things that they'd already packed. 

Patton narrowed his eyes slightly. In all the time that he'd known Logan, however many hundreds or thousands of years that they'd been together and then /been together/, he'd only really seen him frantic twice before. Neither time has ended well for anyone involved. 

Patton shook his head again (honestly, he was beginning to lose track of how many times), turning to help Remy with the trunk. If Logan didn’t calm himself during the next day or so, Patton would talk to him. 

Until then…Patton’s eyes slid back to his Fae. Until then, Patton would do his best. He’d do his best to protect them all, to keep them safe and unharmed. 

(He ignored the voice in the back of his head saying that he’d already failed at that.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!! 
> 
> Feel free to comment if you have any questions/comments/concerns lol, I need human interaction outside of irl d-bags lmao
> 
> Love y’all!!!!


	25. Ch 21: Confrontations and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton finally confronts Logan about what he’s hiding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh I’m excited for this one, y’all. There’re so many lil details in here, and I’m really lookin forward to seein if anyone catches em all ;)
> 
> My life is still hectic as ever, but at this point I’ve passed beyond the realm of caring, so at least I’ve got more time to work on this story, lol. 
> 
> I know I’ve said it so many times before, but y’all are friggin amazing. This story means so much to me, and for people to actively support it? It’s incredible. (And yes this is cheesy, but it’s trueee) Thank you all for being on this journey with me. It’s an honor and a privilege to have such wonderful people reading this. 
> 
> Love y’all, and back to the story!!! <3

They'd been travelling for a long time. They were just settling down for their second night in the forest when Patton finally got the chance to corner Logan. 

Patton avoided the fallen twigs with ease, making his way across the grassy clearing. The light of the moon and stars reflected off of the shining leaves of the trees and lit the demon's way. He was almost startled by the whistling of the wind through the trees. Despite his initial surprise, Patton relaxed further at the sound. If the trees whistled, it meant they were happy. 

Logan was sitting atop his bedroll, staring unblinkingly into the Forest. Even though the woods were safe, the little party having just passed into the Fae's part of the forest before settling down, Logan still took it upon himself to stay awake for most of the night as their watch. You know, just in case. 

Logan, without looking away from the trees, greeted Patton, "Hello, darling."

Patton hummed and sat beside his love, leaning against the Fae's shoulder and sliding a hand up to rub his back. "How're you holding up, Logie?" 

Patton felt Logan sigh, though he didn't look away from the dark trees. "I--" Logan cut himself off, clearing his throat harshly, "I'm doing well, Patton." 

Patton drew away slightly, staring up at Logan instead of following his gaze, "Bullshit."

Logan's eyes flew wide and he stared, astonished, at Patton's now-smug face. As he watched, though, Patton's face softened into something akin to sadness. "Logan, I /know/ you. I know that somethin's wrong – something that you're not telling us." 

Logan held out for exactly six seconds before his face began to crumple. Patton sat straighter and pulled Logan to lean against him. Patton hooked his chin over Logan’s head and cradled the Fae in his arms, murmuring reassurances as he did so. 

Eventually, though, Logan quieted and gently pushed himself away from Patton. He swiped at the tears standing on his cheeks and took a shaky breath in. 

“He’s dying, Patton.” 

Patton couldn’t help but frown, “Roman? Yeah, Lo-Lo, you told us. He’s going to die soon if we don’t stop it, but we can! You’re the one that found the way to save him!” 

Logan shook his head dejectedly. ”No,” he said, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “You-You don’t understand, Patton. He’s /dying/, and if that happens, he /won’t come back/.” 

Patton could only stare at Logan in horror. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, making no noise. 

Logan shifted his gaze again, resolutely staring into the Forest. “He…I’ve told you and Virgil about how this progresses. Even if Roman only remembers these memories like they’re someone else’s stories, he’s still getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information. And for every life he lives, more memories are made. He…” Logan shuddered, fighting off new waves of tears, “He won’t survive the next time.” 

...How in Lucifer’s name had Patton ever felt comforted by the quiet of the Forest? It was oppressive, thick and heavy with far too much of the feared unknown. 

“Logan,” how was Patton keeping his voice so even? “What do you mean he won’t survive the next time?” 

Logan shuddered again, and Patton /wanted/ to brush away the tears falling, now. He /wanted/ to hold his Fae close and reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but it just seemed like he was frozen. If he moved, everything would shatter and fall apart.

“It’s too much for him.” Logan was truly crying, now. “The next life he lives, if he even begins to remember, it will be too much for him to handle. These memories will year him apart from the inside. It…we won’t even have a chance to say goodbye. It won't be like Romulus, Leo, Royce…Roman…we’ll just lose him. We’ll /lose/ him, Patton. And we won’t get him back.” 

Patton smiled, almost laughing at the situation they were in, at how /silly/ Lo-Lo was being. “No! We’d find a way to get him back, you silly-billy! Of course we would!” No, no, no no no, Logan was /looking/ at him now, like he was going crazy! He wasn’t going crazy! “We could just find another way to make him immortal like us, and we’ll all be happy!” 

Logan deflated slightly, reaching up and cupping Patton’s cheek, gently brushing at the rain that had fallen onto Patton’s face. Of course it was rain! What else could it be? 

“No, Patton, I’m sorry. He’d need to remember for that to happen. If we made him immortal before he remembered, it would only make that incarnation immortal. He’d not remember - he’d /never/ remember.” Logan pulled Patton into his arms, pressing his lips against Patton’s temple. “I’m so sorry, starlight, I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to fret. I thought we’d have more time…I was wrong…we never have enough time, do we?” Logan laughed breathily, gently blowing some of Patton’s curls out of place. “We’re immortal, gods and angels alike, both fallen from grace, and yet we never have enough time…what a surprise.” Logan was quiet for a moment, “What an injustice.” 

Patton curled more into Logan’s arms, still fighting off his own tears. “So, if this doesn’t work…if we can’t get Ro-Ro the new /blessing in time….” 

“Yes,” the trees had stopped their singing, and the only sound aside from Logan’s hushed voice was the deep breathing of the others. “We’ll lose him forever.” 

Patton clamped a hand over his sob, though he couldn’t help the tears that spilled from his eyes. He finally wrapped his arms around Logan’s middle, burying his face in the Fae’s chest. 

Logan began rocking Patton in his arms, humming quietly. Patton calmed after a time, laughing softly at Logan's choice of song. "This," Patton sniffled. "This is the song Roman wrote for us, isn't it?" 

Patton hummed to himself as Logan laughed, "Yes, it is. I thought it might...bring comfort to us both." 

Patton tugged Logan down onto his bedroll, nuzzling into Logan's neck with a smile. 

Patton began to sing the song under his breath, smiling even wider when Logan joined in. Patton always loved when he sang with any of the others. It was never often, but it was always nice when they did. It was familial and domestic; a breath of simplicity in the lives of creatures who were anything /but/ simple. 

What Patton wouldn't give to be simple, to not have to worry about all-powerful beings coming after them for one reason or another. One lifetime, sixty, seventy, eighty years. A simple life in a simple cottage, maybe like the one Thomas and Roman had made their own. They could live together and not have to worry about anything other than what they were going to have for supper. No Blessings, no immortality, no constant, ever-present fear tickling at the backs of their minds that it /wasn't enough, it's not enough time, it's not /enough/, damn it/. 

How much of a cosmic irony was it that they were all together like this? They were so, so intrinsically different, and yet they all fit together so well. It should've been impossible, yet there they were. It was fate that they were together, and it was fate that kept them so far apart. 

\-----------------

As Logan's humming dwindled away into gentle snores and Patton's singing dropped into mumbles, and then soft breaths, another person slowly rose from his bedroll, staring towards where he knew Roman still laid. He ignored the sudden wetness of his eyes and breathed shakily before falling back onto his bedding, staring up at the hissing trees without truly seeing them. 

Virgil refused to let his tears fall. Roman would /not/ die, they weren't going to lose him again. 

Virgil would /not/ lose him /ever/ again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oopsies, that ain’t good. Wonder how (if) they’re gonna get outta this one? (:
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!!


	26. Ch 22: Can he do this?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning dawns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BAAAACCCKKKKK
> 
> AAAHHHH Hi!!!!!!!! I'm so happy to be writing thissss ahhhh I've wanted to add more to this for weeeekkkkssss, but I didn't let myself lol. I was so excited I was gonna do a weird count-down type thing, but then I /didn't/, so whoopsies lol. But!!! Finals start tomorrow (no I'm not even close to ready but idc), and then winter break!!! /Hopefully/ I'll be able to finish up the last few chapters here lol, I'm almost there!!! 
> 
> That reminds me!! Merry Christmas, Happy Wintertime, Happy Hannukah (Chanukah? I'm not certain, there are many different sources), Happy Kwanzaa, and/or Happy Holidays!!!!! I hope you all have a good final month (woo!!) of 2020!!!!!
> 
> Anyways, we're starting off with a shorter chapter here, but it does set up for the next Big Bit of the story lol (that and I didn't wanna dive back in head-first or nothin), so, I hope you all enjoy!!!!

Morning dawned to the sound of screaming. 

Virgil's eyes shot open as he was jerked awake by the sound, shooting up from his bedroll to whirl around, searching for whatever was making the sounds. What he saw nearly made his heart stop in his chest. 

"/Roman/." 

Roman, his Roman, was on the ground, writhing in pain. Virgil watched for a moment, horrified at the way his back arched and his face twisted, before shaking himself out of his stupor. 

Logan and Patton had startled awake as well, though they were still tangled in Logan's bedroll. Virgil briefly met their wide eyes before turning and stumbling to Roman's side. Only then did Virgil realize that Thomas was already there, doing his best to keep Roman from hurting himself. 

“Virgil!” Thomas yelled over Roman’s screams, looking close to tears, “What’s going on with him?! What's wrong!?” Thomas struggled to hold Roman down tightly. 

Virgil only shook his head, eyes still trained on Roman. He had no clue what was going on. 

/What was going on/??

Virgil watched dimly as Patton's curl-covered head bobbed towards Roman and Thomas, kneeling on the ground to try and figure out what was going on. When Virgil felt a warm hand on his shoulder that could only be Logan, he no longer bothered to keep the tears from streaming down his face. He threw his arms around the Fae, wanting to bury his face in his shoulder but unwilling to look away from Roman. 

A minute passed, Virgil trying desperately to calm the screaming in his head. Roman would /not/ die. Virgil would /not/ lose him, not again. 

Virgil jerked in Logan's arms as Patton threw himself away from their human, landing on the ground just in front of Logan and Virgil. "/No/." Patton was shaking, from anger or sadness Virgil didn't know. "/Please, no/!" Patton made to scramble back to Roman, but fell as he made to stand again. Virgil watched as the demon lowered his face towards the ground, clenching his fists in the grass. 

There was a moment of tension where no one moved but for Roman’s residual twitching and Patton trembling on the ground. 

"It's the magic." Patton's voice was /breaking/, "Roman's magic, and-and the weight of his memories, it's all clashing with the - with the magic of the Forest. It's tearing him apart." Virgil almost didn't hear him over the ringing in his ears. His swimming vision almost prevented him from seeing Patton's face, cheeks wet with tears. "We don't have days. We have /hours/...maybe less." 

Virgil almost jumped at the sudden sound of a wounded animal, only to realize when Patton and Logan looked at him with tears in their eyes that it wasn't an animal at all. Virgil bit back another sob and stumbled away from Logan, past Patton and towards Roman and Thomas. Roman had stopped screaming, at least, though he still seemed to be writhing in pain. 

Virgil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't need to be so unstable while he was trying to save Roman's life. He gently nudged Thomas away from the prone human, doing his best to /focus, dammit, you have to save him/. 

Breathe in...hold...breathe out. Repeat. Okay, okay, it was all going to be /fine/. 

Virgil reached out, not with his trembling hands, but with his magic. He searched for Roman's own innate magic, the magic that had been the cause of so much of this, and found only a bubbling, broiling mess. Virgil sucked in a breath through his teeth, doing his best to keep his heartrate even. He could do this. 

He could do this. 

He /had/ to do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads this. You guys are the best audience I could've ever asked for, and I promise you, as long as I possibly can, I'll keep making stories that I hope you all can enjoy. 
> 
> Until next time, bye!!!!


	27. Ch 23: Things Get Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Throne Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!!! Wow, this week’s been chaotic lol. All my finals are done with, and I’m now across the entire country from home, but hey, what’s Christmas without a panic attack or five lmao
> 
> This is actually my favorite chapter for a whileee, and there’s a bunch of little things in here again, so that’ll be fun for y’all (I h o p e). 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!!!
> 
> CW/TW: very intense pain, mentions of screaming and arguing 
> 
> (Also, for translation of the Old Tongue, look in the end notes :D )

Logan watched as red, purple, and gold magic flared into being around Virgil and Roman. The red and gold blurred together, streaks of both colors flashing as Roman's internal magic clashed with that of the Forest. The purple flared and began weaving in and out of the red and gold; Virgil was trying to gain the upper hand. 

"*Logan*!" Virgil's echoing voice snapped Logan out of his thoughts, "*I can't hold it for long! Get us to the City*!" 

Logan grit his teeth against the wave of fear that washed over him, nodding stiffly. He knelt by Virgil's side and wrapped his slender hand around the Angel's wrist. He used his other hand to smooth back Roman's sweat-slicked hair. Patton rushed forward as well, placing his hand on Logan's shoulder. 

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Thomas's gaze whipped from person to person. By the stars, he looked terrified. 

"I can get us to the castle, but only us three. And even then, I'm going to need Patton's help, some of his power." Logan refused to look Thomas in the eyes, instead staring at Roman. "Not to mention, the only ones who are able to enter the City are Fae, or those who have previously entered some sort of Deal." Logan focused on the spell he'd need to use, running the words through his mind like water through a riverbed. He vaguely heard Thomas start arguing with Patton, sensing their rising tempers. 

Logan began to mumble the words under his breath. "Sun uka fresa du d'tha kard, d'thsuirh dauna, uyas r'fesa, rad ir d'seyar, rad ir r'seur." Logan could feel his own innate magic swirling, spreading around him and the others like a blanket. 

Thomas and Patton's argument rose in fervor and almost broke Logan's concentration. 

"Thomas, just go with Remy and Emile! Meet us at the gates to the City! You'll see him again then!" 

Logan's chanting grew louder as he rushed to finish the spell. The bubble of his magic stretched over the four. A bright light grew and just before the four disappeared into it, Logan felt a hand fall heavy on his other shoulder. 

/Shit/. 

\--------------------

As soon as Logan felt Thomas (surely, it had to be Thomas) grab his shoulder, he immediately threw all the rest of his remaining magic into the spell, but even then, Logan could feel the spell splitting at the seams. 

At least, until another magic started repairing it. It was another Fae's magic, certainly, there was no way an Angel or Demon could interact with a spell like this. Not only that, but this magic…it was /familiar/. It couldn't be--

Logan fell back from Virgil and Roman, blinking the stars out of his eyes. He glared in Thomas’ direction, ready to tear into him for putting /all of their lives in danger, that was so stupid/, but was distracted by the way that the room was spinning. 

Shit, that wasn’t good. 

Logan fought to control the nausea that always came with using too much of his power. (He’d done it far too many times to /not/ recognize the symptoms) To distract himself, he stared around at the room they’d fallen into. 

It was almost exactly how he remembered it, the Throne Room. The room itself was high and long, large white pillars arching up to a golden ceiling. The room was moderately filled with all sorts of Fae, from the more stereotypical ones like centaurs and dryads to the unconventional, like liches or banshees, even a few fallen gods, like Logan. At one end of the room were dark wooden doors, thrown wide to the bright of the courtyard outside. At the other end was a raised dais with three thrones reigning above it all. 

The only unoccupied throne - the smallest - was bronze and lightly tarnished, decorative flowers spilling over the back. The second was silver, slightly larger than the bronze, and had wolves carved on the legs and armrests. The last throne was gold, like the ceiling, and had lines of rainbow running across the chair at the edges. 

It was what was on the thrones that was really important, though. 

Rhiannon and Morgan. The fairy Queen and King. 

Logan made to rise and move towards them, the ones he knew could help, please /please let them be able to help/, but was stopped in his tracks by screaming from behind him. Logan whipped around to see Virgil nearly straddling Roman as the human thrashed around, screaming in obvious pain. 

"Roman." Logan could hardly bear to breathe, no, oh no, they were /too late/. Logan watched in horror as Roman arched his back, nearly throwing Virgil to the floor. Roman screamed silently, the pain apparently overcoming him. 

It broke Logan's heart for him to turn away and scramble towards the thrones. He forwent swiping the tears off his cheeks - more would take their place anyways - as he stumbled and fell on the steps to the dais. "Rhiannon. Morgan. Please." Logan was /sobbing/ now. "It's Roman. It's Romulus. He's dying. He's not going to be able to come back. Please. /Help us/." 

Logan sobbed again as his mind whirled. They might be too late, they might not have made it in time, they might have /failed/. He couldn't help but cover his ears. It was too much, too loud, /too many thoughts too much screaming please stop stop stop/. 

Only for him to be startled into silence when he felt someone lift him to his feet. Logan opened his eyes to see Rhiannon's gentle eyes and Morgan's sympathetic face just in front of him. 

"What can we do?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spell intro: The magic in this universe is basically sentient, so if you actually have to use a spell, you have to ask the magic to work for/with you. 
> 
> That having been said, magic-users trust their own innate magic to handle the finer details of the spells, while allowing the Force- ahem, sorry, wrong fandom - while allowing the magic in the world itself to really power said spell. The smaller the spell, the more innate power it takes, hence why Logan’s constantly running on empty; he’s far too impatient. 
> 
> The actual structure of the spells comes from a combination of Old English and something I call Bullshitting My Way Through - I know, a truly innovative thought 
> 
> Anyways, the translation: 
> 
> Sun uka fresa du d'tha kard, d'thsuirh dauna, uyas r'fesa, rad ir d'seyar, rad ir r'seur - From one place to the next, through time, over space, let us travel, let us stray
> 
> If y’all enjoyed that, I’ve got p l e n t y more in the way of explanation for not-important-shite-at-all, so feel free to ask. Warning, I will rant about this and I will n o t stop lol
> 
> Anyways, see ya next week!!!!


	28. Ch 24: Running Out Of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past is (semi) revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!!!! Happy Weekend!!!! 
> 
> So, fun fact, this update was going to be the one where I finally changed the "Total Chapters" bit of the fic, bc I /finally/ had the last couple chapters (plus an epilogue (and a bonus ch but shhh)) planned out, but then I had a crazy idea and my fantastic QPP said I should go for it, so here I am, not doing that at all :) If I actually stick to this base outline (lol I won't) there'll be about 3-4 more chapters plus the epilogues, so...yeah, we're really in the home stretch now lol. 
> 
> Anyways, wooowww, more backstory, who woulda thought. On the bright side, this is actually one of the longer chapters that I've written, so that's good lol. Once again, the spell translation will be in the end-notes if you wanna see (I'm actually proud of it lol). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!!! On with the show!!!!
> 
> HEY HEY HEY LOOKIE CW/TW: Non-specific panic (Patton's on the brink of an attack, but he never actually goes there), mentions of death?, eye stuff?, idk if there's anything else please tell me!
> 
> (HEY ALSO Question here; would anyone be interested in seeing the shtuff that I've put together for the world-building here? Because I've been toying with the idea of making another "fic" to keep myself and the information here organized lol. It'd have stuff like the alphabet I've put together, the maps I've drawn, and the fanart that's been made, and other stuff too. Anyways, tell me if you'd be interested in somethin like that!!)

Patton could only watch, hands clamped over his mouth as the loves of his life panicked. It would be fine, it would all be /fine/. His hands slipped slightly as the tears soaking his cheeks just kept flowing. 

The demon jerked as Roman writhed on the floor, only watching as Virgil's aura grew dimmer as he put more and more power into keeping Roman stable. 

He should go help. He could give Virgil some of his power. He could help.

Patton didn't move. 

He watched as Logan stumbled for Rhiannon and Morgan. Patton really liked the two Fae. They'd been there for Logan since he'd Fallen and become a Fae to begin with. Rhiannon had given Logan his position of Advisor to the Court, and Morgan themself had been the one to guide Logan when he was just figuring out his new powers. 

Patton found himself staring at Rhiannon, the Fairy Queen's dark skin contrasting beautifully with the black of her hair and the gold of her dress. Patton really liked gold. Morgan, contrasting their wife, had a simple silvery tunic and trousers on, but they were both wearing their crowns. Patton realized the four (five? Was Thomas here? Had he bypassed the barrier?) of them must have dropped right into the middle of some sort of open-court - the two monarchs absolutely /hated/ those crowns, and only wore them when they were going to be out in front of a vast number of their subjects. 

Patton finally registered someone calling his name and he looked to see Thomas in front of him, looking far more concerned than he should've. "--ton? Patton, can you breathe for me?" 

Breathe? No, no, Patton was fine, everything was /fine/. 

Thomas sighed heavily, glancing over at Logan and the rulers, who seemed to be talking together. "Please, please forgive me for this…." Thomas looked back at Patton and the demon was immediately drawn to his golden eyes, Patton really liked g-- wait. Golden eyes? Thomas' eyes were brown? "Sern d'tha nauk'n, haer d'tha ruir, rad faesa narsak'n ifuk urui." 

Some of the fog clouding Patton's mind cleared, and he gasped for a breath, lungs suddenly aching. He stared at Thomas, noting how the golden glow was barely fading. 

"You're…you have magic." Patton blinked at Thomas for a moment, "You're /magic/."

Thomas chuckled, though Patton could tell he was trying to hide his fear of Patton's reaction. "Yeah, yeah, I can do magic. I'm magic." 

Patton watched as the brown of Thomas' eyes finally made a reappearance, the gold entirely draining from his irises. That wasn't an angel thing, /definitely/ wasn't a demon thing. That left human or…or Fae. 

Patton gripped Thomas by the wrist, newly-grown claws threatening to dig into the pulse point. “/What are you/?” Patton would /not/ let anyone or any /thing/ hurt the ones he cared about, and any unknown was a danger. 

Thomas’ eyes were wide and he looked almost…offended? “Patton, what the—? Patton, I’m not gonna hurt anyone, I-I can do magic, that’s all! I’m sorry for hiding it, but I-I-I didn't think you'd trust me otherwise!” 

Patton narrowed his eyes and made to respond – because that was /true/ - but a call from Rhiannon stopped him. “Patton! Are you okay? Who’s—“ Patton turned to see the Fairy Queen freeze in shock. What the—? “/Thomas/?! Is that you?” 

Thomas hunched his shoulders, suddenly looking much younger. "Uhh...hey--" 

Virgil's sudden yell interrupted whatever Thomas was going to say. "*Guys! I can't hold it much longer!*" 

Logan cussed quietly, "We have to go, /now/. If we don't stop this soon, we'll lose Roman forever." 

Patton sighed heavily. Like they all /definitely/ needed that now, Logan, thanks /so much/. 

Morgan threw a look Thomas' way as they swept toward Virgil and Roman with their wife. "We /will/ be talking about this later." 

Thomas went to say something but apparently thought better of it, simply nodding. 

As Morgan knelt by the little group that had formed, Patton's gaze wandered around the room. Everything was just getting to be too /much/, and Patton found himself edging his hands over his ears in an attempt to block some of it out. Patton almost wished for Thomas to do his spell again, because the fear clawing at Patton’s ribs was doing him no favors whatsoever. 

Patton finally focused on the Fae in the room, taking notice of the startlingly large number of familiar faces. Most were staring or whispering, obviously about the five who’d appeared in the middle of the room. Patton blocked out the mutters and focused on the relatively few familiar faces. 

("Logan, what can we do? How can we stop this??") 

There was Adelaide, Maudras, Paul, and a few more scattered about. Patton's heart ached at the thought that they were watching all this. They'd been friends with Roman in one age or another. 

("We have to get him back to the Anthaeum, if we can do that, we have a chance.") 

Adelaide had known Xander, the dashing knight he was. Xander had met Patton first, when he was just trying to.../borrow/ a few apples from a crotchety old farmer, and they'd danced around each other -- Patton fighting away his odd sense of attraction, Xander simply /fighting/ the demon -- for almost a year before Patton finally realized it was /him/. They'd lived with one another for years, Patton, Logan, and Virgil setting up shop in the Capital with Romulus' third life. Adelaide had run the bakery that Xander loved, though that mainly had to do with the cinnamon rolls more than anything else. Seventeen years down the line, Xander died fighting that /stupid/ beast of a dragon. Why the king ever sent a single contingency of knights to deal with a /dragon/, Patton would never know. 

("*We need to go /now/!*) 

Maudras had known Romulus' seventh life, a tall and humble carpenter called Rowan. He'd set up shop in the small but bustling Firerend, crafting his wares and selling them to make his living. If Patton remembered correctly, it had been Logan who found him first, having been summoned to deal with the "pesky giant" who had been harvesting wood from the Brownies' forest. It was only after Logan had successfully made a Deal with the human that he knew it was Romulus. That, of course, didn't exactly go well, and Maudras was one of the many who paid the price (but that's a story for another day). 

("I’ve got him, just go! Just /go/!") 

Paul...dear, sweet Paul, the blind man who'd learned to see. He was one of the few who hadn’t had a long, complicated history with Patton or the others. He’d been a simple musician, going against the odds and making a name for himself in a near-archaic town that hated him for some falsified sin. Virgil had been wandering then, tearing himself apart with grief and guilt. He’d found Paul (and Rogue, the tenth, though neither realized it until much later) and was moved by the old man’s optimism. He’d healed Paul, and even though all three were soon driven out of the town, Paul still could only see the silver lining. 

(“Come on!”)

Patton's gaze traveled faster around the room, trying urgently to find /something/ to focus on other than the sound of those awful /screams/--

Orym, Amara, Elas, Inaria, Dyad--

Oh no. 

Oh /please, no/. 

("Patton, come on!") 

Patton could only stare as the seconds stretched on. Dyad, a young woman with dark brown hair and an all-too-familiar smile (currently twisted into a frown) nodded curtly at Patton when she finally realized what was going on and dragged a young man and an even younger girl down a side hallway, away from all that was happening in the throne room. 

("Patton!") 

Patton closed his eyes against a sudden wave of nausea, bracing himself on his knees for a moment. Dyad, Teal, and Andy had been the siblings of Roman's previous life: Pryce. After...everything that happened then, Rhiannon had invited them to stay in the Castle, providing them with food, shelter...and a new family. 

("Patton!!!") 

"Damn it..." Patton knew they hadn't been fast enough. Teal and Andy had seen the near-perfect copy of their brother on the floor. "/Damn it/." Patton should've noticed them sooner. He should've been /faster/. 

Patton barely noticed Rhiannon grab his wrist and start pulling him along, too caught up in his own memories, his own mind. 

He should’ve been /faster/. He should’ve /done something/ instead of just being /useless/ like he /always/ was. 

All these people, all these poor friends and family had already had to suffer through the pain of watching all this /shit/ go down with their own iteration of Roman—of Romulus. 

They’d all seen these forces so far outside their control interfered and destroyed the lives of a /good man/. 

They’d all /watched/ as their friend /died/, only to find out that it would just happen again and again and /again/. 

They didn't need to watch it again. 

If Patton had anything to say about it, they’d never have to ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spell Translation: 
> 
> Sern d'tha nauk'n, haer d'tha ruir, rad faesa narsak'n ifuk urui - Calm the mind, heal the soul, let peace descend upon you
> 
> Ooh wow some more info on Ro's lives, some shtuff about Thomas, oooh, aaahh. Lol that was a fun one to write, I've gotta admit, even if I spent like four hours editing it (: 
> 
> Anyways, I'll see y'all next week, thanks for readin!!!


	29. Ch 25: And He Fades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're going to make it, they /had to make it/.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh hi!!! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for not uploading last weekendddd - we'd just gotten back from my dad's (eww) and our internet was down (double eww) and when I tried to upload it from school, they'd /blocked it/ (honestly that was just rude). Ugh, I'm so sorryyy
> 
> Aside from that, though, there's somethin really exciting here - you may have noticed the "chapters" bit of this fic has changed :D That's right! We finally have a set end for this story!!! God, that's gonna be really weird. So there'll probably be this chapter, one from Virgil's POV, a 3rd person, a HUGE ch (like, a few thousand words at the very least) with all their POVs, another 3rd person, Virgil's, and then two epilogues (the second'll be the tie-in to the second "book" in this series). 
> 
> Alsoalsoalso, I'll probably (maybe) be uploading a new "fic" here soon with some of my worldbuilding shtuff, (though it probably won't be until I've at least got these last chapters fully written lol), so stay tuned for thatttttt - it'll have things like the language, the basic history, maps, i made a fucking /punnet square/, etc etc. I also might be expanding more on the lore and such behind our favorite Himbos if I don't get it totally cleared up in these last few chapters. 
> 
> Thank you all so, so much for having been here with me. I literally can't thank you enough...everyone who's commented, left kudos, or even just opened the story to read it...you're freaking amazing. Your support here is more than I ever expected, and it's the best thing I ever could've asked for. Thank you, so much. <3<3<3
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this ch!!!! It's a little longer than the ones before, but from here on, it's all just one big long sprint to the finish.

Logan slid under one of Virgil's arms, supporting the angel as he did his best to keep next to Morgan, who was carrying Roman. They were making their way to the Anthaeum, as quickly as they could. They didn’t have much time before Roman…no, it was going to be fine. 

They were going to make it. 

Virgil stumbled badly, and Logan struggled to keep them both from faceplanting on the cool, familiar marble floor. Logan refused to look back for Patton and Rhiannon, trusting the Fairy Queen to get them both to the Anthaeum - Logan wouldn’t be able to bear seeing Patton so broken /again/. 

They were going to make it. 

For the love of all things natural, had the Castle always had so many halls?? This was taking so, so long. Left, right, right, left, straight, left— why were there so many turns??? 

No, no, there was no need to panic, it was all going to be fine, they were /going to make it/. 

(Why was Logan trying so desperately to convince himself?) 

Finally, after far, /far/ too long, they made it to the Anthaeum. 

The Anthaeum was a large, semi-open-air room. It was all stone and crystal in the shape of a big circle with steps leading down to a smaller floor, all with a large slab etched with glowing blue runes sat directly in the center. One wall was comprised entirely of arches, letting sunlight and crawling ivy invade the otherwise pristine room. 

This…Logan stumbled himself as they crossed the threshold of the room, this was where it had all happened. This was where the Blessing had happened. 

This was where /everything/ had begun; the good, the bad, and everything in-between. 

“Logan…L, cmon!” 

Virgil’s strained calls broke Logan from whatever reverie he’d been in. They made their way together over to the large rock in the middle of the room, Morgan and Roman in tow. 

Morgan gently laid Roman on the slab, stepping aside for Virgil and Logan to press as close as they dared. Logan's hand trembled as he reached out towards Roman's face. Gods, his /face/. Roman was still grimacing in pain (and Logan was beginning to doubt he’d ever /stop, please, please, stop/). 

Another hand intercepted Logan’s before he could truly make contact with Roman’s jaw, and the Fae was almost startled to find Patton standing just opposite from him, on Roman’s other side. 

Patton smiled tremulously, and Logan’s heart constricted tightly. His sweet, kind Patton should never have had to go through all this. If it had just /worked/ the first time, if he'd just /done more/— 

“Logie,” Patton squeezed Logan’s hand tightly. “It’s going to be—“ Patton cut himself off, both façade and voice beginning to crack. “It’s going to be okay, okay?” Logan simply squeezed Patton’s hand in response, too tired to respond any other way. (Forget constricting, if Logan’s heart was made of glass or porcelain, it would be nothing but dust on the breeze by now.) 

/Gods/, Logan was so /tired/ of this. Years had passed by, gone without even blinking, with them only taking comfort in the fact that they /would/ see each other again. But now? Now they might just be too late. 

Logan swallowed down a sob. He couldn’t afford to break, not now. Patton was already on the verge, and Virgil needed all the support he could get. 

For so long, Logan had been the dependable one. 

He’d /always/ been there for the others. 

He wasn’t going to break, not now, not ever. 

Rhiannon stepped to Patton’s side, smiling tightly at Logan and covering Virgil’s hands (which were still clamped on Roman) with her own. “Virgil, why don’t we trade off?” Virgil nodded, hair falling into his face. “On three?” Another nod. “Alright…okay, one, two, three!” 

The bright purple-y light that had been flowing unsteadily to Roman through Virgil, setting both their veins glowing faintly, faded away, only for Rhiannon’s magic to take its place. 

Rhiannon barely waited before holding a hand above Roman’s forehead and mumbling a few words under her breath. Logan caught Virgil as his knees gave way and Patton hurried around the table to fuss, absentmindedly pressing his lips to the angel's head and reflecting on what had just happened. 

Virgil’s magic had been sustaining both him /and/ Roman, and it was a constant battle to keep it from clashing with Roman’s own and causing an unpredictable backlash of magic. Rhiannon and Virgil couldn’t try to heal Roman at the same time because of this - their incompatible magics would just make their problems worse. 

Rhiannon's magic, though, unlike Virgil’s, would work in tandem with Roman’s, and the Blessing itself. 

Rhiannon was the Queen. She had dominion over the Forest and it’s magic, and it (typically, /usually/) listened to her. Roman’s magic was his own, a flavor or brand unique to /him/. Not Remus, or even Romulus, would have even a similar magic. But, this time, the Blessing had almost melded itself to Roman’s magic, stealing from Roman’s reserves to keep itself alive. 

The Blessing was Fae magic though, it was /Rhiannon's/ magic. And it was, essentially, now Roman’s too. 

If Rhiannon could tap into that power, if she could somehow link her own power to what she’d done so long ago…well, anything that can be done can be undone. 

(Hopefully) 

Logan was startled from his steadily darkening thoughts by Rhiannon shouting some spell he didn’t recognize, throwing herself away from Roman. Logan couldn’t help but wince in sympathy at the dull thud as the Queen hit the floor. That had to hurt. Admittedly, though, he was more distracted by the way the blue runes around the room had started shining like miniature stars, casting the room itself into shadow. 

Gods above, he hadn’t seen something like this since…since he’d Fallen. 

Unbidden, memories rushed through Logan’s head. Starlight, bright and shining more than a thousand diamonds; planets hurtling through the huge vacuum of space, alone and distant, but connected nonetheless through this vast universe; creating galaxies with his own two hands no living being would ever see, for nothing more than his own enjoyment; the faces of the ones he loved; their expressions as they faded away into nothing but wisps of shadow and stars and /nothingness/; the fear ratcheting higher as he waited to disappear too; the /pain/ when he /didn’t/; one last glimpse of the sky, big and beautiful and /his/— and then nothing. For a long, long time -- long even for a (/former/) god. Nothing. Then— 

“Rhiannon!” Logan snapped back to the Anthaeum with little more than a sharp intake of breath, focus shifting from his past to the present with a speed he’d become far too used to. 

Looking over at her, the Fairy Queen seemed to be alright, shakily accepting her spouse’s assistance in standing. 

“I’ve done what I can,” Rhiannon’s voice was scratchy and sounded sore. “He’s…he doesn’t have much time, but I’ve given him a bit more.” 

Logan didn’t even bother to hide his sharp intake of breath, “Rhiannon. What did you do?” Gods, Logan wasn’t going to break, he /wasn’t going to break/. “What did you do?!” He apologetically squeezed Patton’s hand for his volume, though he refused to look away from the Queen. He wanted, /needed/ answers. 

Rhiannon grimaced, falling into a coughing fit a moment later, then, “Its essentially a cocoon of magic. It can keep Roman stable, but not for long. It…it will give us more time.” 

"Time?" Patton asked, voice trembling so slightly that it almost went unnoticed by Logan, never-mind the others, "Why do we need more time?" 

Logan’s blood ran cold, and an almost inaudible “No…” escaped his lips. No, no, no, /no/. 

Rhiannon looked so /small/ standing there, held up by Morgan. Her façade crumbled just a little, something desperate shining in her eyes. “More…more time to say goodbye.” Over the ringing in Logan’s ears, he could just make out the cries of anguish from his demon and Angel. But Rhiannon wasn’t finished. “He’s fading. I can’t—I can’t help him. There’s nothing left we can do.” 

And Logan was Falling all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are the best!!!! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, /whatever/, feel free to comment!!!!!


	30. Ch 26: Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, no, this can't be real - this isn't real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! Happy Sunday, y'all!!!! Omg I'm so freakin excited for this chapterrrrr, it's one of my favorites yet lol. 
> 
> So, fun fact, did you know that a small novel is typically thought to be 40k-50 words? And guess who's currently editing these chapters? And learning how to bind books? :D I'll have written a book by the end of winter, and I'll have physical copies by summer. I'm so friggin exciteddddd 
> 
> Anyways, we're gettin closer to the end, folks! Only five more installments in this work, and then the epilogue!!! (And the lead-in for the next book, but we'll talk about that when the time comes lol). Also, I haven't forgotten about the second work here with the world-building, I'm just trying to figure out the best layout for all the shtuff I have lol - the people who responded positively to the idea of it? Yeah, you opened a can a worms there lol (I've made three more graphs since the last time I updated this, you are not prepared--) 
> 
> Also, CW/TW HERE YALL, THIS IS IMPORTANT:   
> \--Explicit (Catholic/Christian) religious imagery / mentions of Lucifer/the devil (It makes sense i promise)   
> \--mentions of racial/class discrimination   
> \--a "grown-up", older father-figure acting out in anger towards the mc   
> \--detached descriptions of death/(kind-of, non-human) blood   
> \--basically mind-control (ends quickly and there are no lasting effects)   
> \--unreliable narrator / vague implications of dissociation   
> \--detailed descriptions of swordfighting and injuries pertaining to that  
> \--very much indifference at the implications of death   
> \--explicit mentions of pain/disregarding pain 
> 
> I put literally everything I could think of here, but please let me know if there's anything I missed - this ch's p heavy, even for me. Also, I'll put a description of this ch at the beginning of the next one, so please don't feel pressured to read this. It's important to the story, but I promise you won't miss anything. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!!! We're almost to the finish line, people!!!!!

When Virgil was created, fiery starlight and darkness coming together in an explosion of life, he wasn't fully grown. He was the size of a child, even if his mind was far more mature. The first to find him wandering that vast space was Berith, a kind old angel with hollow stars for eyes. 

"Ah...hello there, my child, and who might you be?" 

Virgil could still remember the old walking stick Berith had used, all gnarled and faded with age, but still beautiful. Being close to Berith felt electric, like all the air around him and his was filled with fire. 

Virgil hadn't known how to respond, so he didn't. 

Berith had only chuckled in reply to his silence, chucking him gently under the chin. "Then, I suppose if you don't know yourself, I'll have to introduce you." Berith led him towards bright lights reflecting off of large metal gates, humming to himself now and again. Virgil had stayed mostly by his side, sometimes speeding up or slowing down to look at the angel's bushy grey beard, or his huge white wings. 

Eventually, they reached the gates, only to be halted by another figure, this one less imposing and (Virgil would later find out) a true human, albeit dead. This human welcomed the two home happily, beaming a bright smile and winking at Virgil when he caught his eye. 

Berith smiled, "Hello to you as well, Barnabus." He ushered Virgil forward, walking stick nudging the backs of Virgil's knees. "I'd like to introduce you two. Barnabus, I just found this little one out in the Fields. Little one, this is Barnabus, one of my closest friends here." 

Virgil waved slightly, refusing to trust his voice just yet. 

They needed a name for Virgil in order to enter the gates, though no matter how hard he tried, Virgil just couldn't think of one. 

Eventually, Berith patted Virgil gently on the head, "What if I were to name you, little one? Would that be alright with you?" 

Virgil was tempted to say no, if only because of the sharp, shocked look Barnabus gave Berith, but Berith had been so kind to him, and Virgil didn't truly care either way. Virgil nodded. 

For a moment, a dark shadow passed through Berith's eyes, but it was gone in an instant, and Berith was thinking again. "What about...yes, what about Virael?" 

Virgil thought for a moment. The new name felt...good, but not quite right. Oh well, Virgil could probably change it later. 

The old angel nearly beamed at Virgil's nod, "Good, good!" 

And despite Barnabus' increasingly concerned looks, Berith and Virgil were soon walking through the gates and into Heaven. 

Years passed, and Virgil grew. He learned that, with Berith as his guardian, Virgil would become a Cherubim, or a Guardian. /That/ was a title that fit perfectly. Virgil took to his training with enthusiasm, graduating near the top of his class. 

Berith was so proud. 

Virgil was at least acquainted with all his peers, though his closest friends were Jophiel and Paimon. Jophiel was beautiful, and so creative that he sometimes pulled things from thin air accidently whenever he was excited. But, at least to Virgil, Paimon was a whole other matter. 

Paimon, or Patton as he'd secretly told Virgil he wanted to be called, was different. Virgil thought he was stunning, and he was the kindest of them all. He'd do just about anything to help anyone...which was why Virgil always got so angry when he was treated poorly. Constantly, Jophiel and Patton were telling Virgil to keep his head down, to not make a fuss when one of them was mocked or cast to the ground. Virgil refused to listen. Virgil had been lucky enough to be found by one of the highest angels - it was just /luck/ - who cared if not everyone had gotten that chance? They still deserved respect and /common decency/. 

Everything came to a head on the Day the Angels Fell. 

Lucifer, an acquaintance, even a friend of Virgil's, was just as upset as Virgil at the treatment of "lesser" angels. Lucifer had been found by both an archangel and a seraphim, two classes that were almost as far apart as they could possibly get. Lucifer fluctuated between the two jobs, serving as both a caretaker and a messenger. Through this, he was able to get a near-unique perspective on the other angels, finding that more than a few were, for lack of a better word, bastards. 

He'd spread this word, gathering angels to his side in an attempt to, as the humans would later call it, unionize and protest this treatment. 

Among those openly recruited were Patton and Jophiel. 

Lucifer had come to Berith and Virgil, trying to get them on his side too, but Berith had only spat in Lucifer's face and dragged a silently apologetic and sympathetic Virgil away. (Lucifer and Virgil had met in secret twice after that, Virgil vowing that he was on their side, but it might be a good idea for him to not be so open about it. Lucifer had agreed, and so Virgil became the "spy on the inside" so to speak.) 

On that Day, Lucifer and the others went to the Throne, a large, silver chair that was more symbolic than anything (The Creator's form had apparently long-since vanished, but…/It/ was still present.) Lucifer was a master at speaking, and he was able to draw everyone in. He talked about the inequality, the /injustices/ that were running rampant through the population, how it not only affected the angels, but the humans they were to care for too. 

Throughout the speech, Virgil alternated between watching Lucifer do /so well, oh, Virgil was so proud/ and watching Berith grow more and more angry. 

Eventually, Lucifer finished speaking, waiting anxiously for a final verdict from this absent God. In the quiet, Berith stepped forward, huge, graying wings folding out from behind him. That wasn’t important to Virgil though. Patton's /face/ was what caught his attention the most and - oh, Virgil was going to /scream/. 

"Lucifer, how /dare/ you." Virgil had only seen Berith this angry…well, Virgil had never seen Berith this angry. The older angel wasn't screaming - which would've been fine, they could've /handled/ screaming - Berith was simply staring, eyes hard and cold. "This is how our world has been for eons, /boy/, and you wish to change it overnight?" Berith scoffed, "I've been the Prince of the Cherubim for longer than you've been alive, and you truly expect me to listen to what you have to say?" 

Then Berith reached for his sword. 

Virgil barely thought before darting forward and placing himself directly between Berith and Lucifer (and Jophiel, and /Patton/). Virgil refused to look Berith in the eye, but reached out and did his best to press his arm down. 

"/What/ do you think you're doing?" 

Virgil grit his teeth and refused to show just how /terrified/ he was. Berith was being /insane/, Virgil said, Lucifer wasn't being unreasonable, and yes, things had been that way for years, but they could /change/. 

When Virgil chanced a glance up, he was unable to totally suppress his shudder of fear. 

"Virael, get out of my way." 

Virgil shook his head. 

"I don't think you understand, I /made/ you, you /will/ do as I say." Berith's anger seemed to only be growing, and a sinking feeling in Virgil's gut told him that it was aimed in his direction. "Now, /get out of my way, Virael/." 

Berith's voice echoed with power, and Virgil's mind went cloudy. He could very remotely feel himself stepping to the side, but it was so distant, and Virgil was so tired. He decided to just relax and wait – for what, he didn't know. 

There was yelling, then suddenly a warm hand on his wrist, and another on his cheek. Was that Patton that Virgil heard? Asking what had happened to him? Oh, that was sweet. 

"Virael, get over here." Oh, Virgil didn't want to leave this warmth, "/Now/." Virgil felt his legs begin to move, though he was stopped by another hand on his other wrist. There were two points of contact now, one warm and loving, the other cooler and comforting nonetheless. 

Oh, now it was Jophiel, telling Virgil not to go anywhere, before screaming past him to Berith, something about being a bastard, Virgil didn't really care. 

There was a heavy sigh from Berith, then "Virael, /get them out of our way/." Oh, Virgil didn't want to do that, but he was surprised to feel himself shake off the hands and draw his own sword, turning about and holding it high. He couldn't quite bring himself to swing it though, he didn't want to hurt those comforting hands. 

"/Now/!" Virgil could physically feel himself trembling under the strain. He just wanted it to /stop/, he wanted to /relax/ again. 

"Damn you, boy!" 

Suddenly, Virgil was roughly shoved into someone, only for a sharp gasp and angry yelling to rise again from behind him. It was only when the person he'd fallen into, his warmth, started screaming that Virgil's mind truly cleared. 

Virgil did his best to ignore his spinning head, turning away from his--from Patton to see what had happened. And his vision swam again. 

In front of him, posed almost as if time was standing still, were Berith and Jophiel...the smaller angel with Berith's sword stuck through his stomach. Jophiel...had pushed him. Jophiel had jumped in the way of Berith's blade, the one that had been /aimed for Virgil, oh no/. 

Virgil shrugged Patton's arms off, vision swimming with /red/, and lunged towards Berith. The older angel wasn't surprised for long, ducking around Virgil's blade with seeming ease. 

"I trained you, boy! You think I don't know how you fight? You'd have to be more stupid than I thought." 

Virgil screamed in rage, doubling his efforts. Finally, he backed Berith against the foot of the Throne, both of them gasping for breath. 

"You /monster/!" Virgil was shaking in his grief, "You /killed/ him! You tried to kill /me/!" Virgil sucked in a deep breath, standing tall and glaring at Berith. "I don't care what I have to do, how far I'll Fall; I /will/ kill you. And I'll enjoy it." 

Berith laughed tauntingly, spreading his arms wide, "The creation cannot kill its creator, child. I invite you to try. You'll fail, just like how your coalition here will fail in doing /anything/ of import, just like your little friend will have failed to protect /you/, Virael.” 

Virgil abandoned all pretense of calm, screaming as he lunged forward and thrust his sword into Berith's chest. “I am /not/ your creation! I am /Virgil/!” 

Berith’s lifeforce, all shining and bright, spilled over Virgil's sword, covering Berith's hands and flowing down onto the steps of the Throne. Virgil could only stare as the starlight of Berith's eyes slowly grew dimmer and dimmer, disappearing with in a blink. 

Virgil stared for another moment, unsure if his surroundings were truly silent, or if the ringing of his ears was covering the sounds. Virgil's stomach turned as he looked down and saw the black lifeblood staining his own hands. 

He stumbled backwards, pointedly refusing to look at Berith – at Berith's lifeless /body, oh god/. Virgil instead turned, disregarding the concerned murmurings, only having eyes for Patton and Lucifer, gathered around...something on the ground. 

No, no, no no no /no/. 

/Jophiel/. 

No, no, /please/, not Jophiel, not Roman, /please/-- 

Wait. 

Wait, what? 

Abruptly, Jophiel's body flickered, the blackish-blue of the ground flashing to a great stone slab. Jophiel himself was changing too, shifting between his too-still form and another, this one shorter and fairer and grimacing as if in terrible pain. 

/Roman/. 

Virgil spasmed in Logan's arms, vision still wavering. He didn't know whether he wanted to scream or cry. Logically, he knew that Jophiel wasn't there. Jophiel had died millennia ago. Jophiel /couldn't/ be there. 

Jophiel /wasn't/ there. 

That was /Roman/. 

Virgil launched himself to his unsteady feet, falling towards the slab, towards /Roman, please no/. He braced himself on the edge, choking back sobs. 

"Virgil! What are you doing?!" Oh, that was Logan. God above, he sounded so scared, so /heartbroken/. "Are you--Virgil, if you interfere with this magic, we...we could lose you both!" He was crying now. Damn it all. 

"Please, Virge," Now it was Patton, crying much more openly than Logan had been. "I...we can hardly handle losing Roman, we couldn't take it if we lost you too." 

That...that gave Virgil pause. He stopped, trembling, an inch away from Roman. 

Someone grabbed Virgil by the arm and spun him around, and Virgil wasn't as shocked as he maybe should've been to see Logan, holding him by the shoulders and shaking slightly. "Virgil, you don't have enough power. You spent too much just keeping him /alive/." Virgil set his jaw, but Logan wasn't done yet. "You-you don't get it! If you do this, you'll /die/." 

"So what?" 

Logan released Virgil in shock, horror tracing its way across his face. 

"We lose him either way." Virgil barely recognized his own voice, not echoing with power like it usually did when he was upset, but low and gravelly, scratching its way out of his own throat. "I'm," He choked on its claws, tears beginning to stream down his face, "I'm not strong enough. I'm not strong enough to lose him. I /won't/ lose him. Not again." He shoved Logan backwards, hoping against all hope that Patton caught him. Virgil turned and caught hold of Roman's sleeve with one hand, cupping his cheek with the other. "It'll be okay, Ro, I swear." 

And Virgil let loose. 

Normally, when he used his power, he kept a very tight lid on exactly how much he used, terrified of the unknown effects of using too much at once. In all his years, he'd barely ever used more than a fraction of his power at one time. From when Virgil was made to the Fall, from his promotion to the Second Rebellion, from the beginning of Virgil's time on earth to just a few /months/ ago, Virgil had never used too much of his power. But now? Now, he didn't care. He didn't care if he used all the power he had, he didn't care if he /died/– all that mattered was /Roman/. 

Virgil let his magic spill out, cascading in purple waves through his arms and even throughout the room. He could feel it draining from him, slowly making his already-exhausted mind foggier. 

But. 

It was /working/. 

Roman wasn't in /pain/ anymore. His breathing was deepening and that horrible frown on his face had disappeared. It was /working/. 

So Virgil kept giving. 

Virgil felt what was most likely Logan grab one arm, Patton the other. He tried to shake them off, trying to /keep going, come on, keep going/, but he was too weak. They were slowly pulling him away. He was losing his grip on Roman - he was /losing him, please, no/. 

Virgil poured out the rest of his power into Roman. Stars danced in front of his eyes, obscuring his vision near entirely. And then something shifted. 

Something was wrong. 

Virgil couldn't help but scream as pain arced through his body, white-hot and blazing. 

/Something was very wrong/. 

Patton and Logan, instead of pulling Virgil away from Roman, were now supporting his weight almost entirely. Virgil could hear them shouting, calling his name and asking what was happening, but it was so hard to focus past the /pain/. Oh God, was this how Roman had been feeling for the past day? Or /worse/?? How had he /survived/, this was /Hell/. 

It could've been five seconds or five /days/ that Virgil was stuck in this pain-filled daze, he didn't know, he didn't care nearly enough. But as suddenly as it started, it stopped. 

The pain disappeared in a flash of light, along with the Anthaeum, the Queen and King, Thomas...and Roman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!!! Feel free to leave comments - questions, comments, concerns, all are welcome! You guys are the best!!!!!!!


	31. Ch 27: The Otherrealm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something unexpected happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!! God, what a week it’s been, huh. Lol I hope y’all’ve managed to keep your sanity - mines hanging by a thread lmao. 
> 
> So, fun fact, my schools forcing me to go on this “class retreat” thing this week and we’re not allowed to bring any computers or laptops or anything (I get to bring my phone, so I’ll prolly still work on the Fic, but that’s another story). This does mean, though, that I probably won’t be updating next weekend. On the bright side, that just gives me the chance to make this ch really fuckin good for y’all lol, and trust me, I’ll be using every opportunity to do so. 
> 
> Aside from all that, I’m actually really excited about this ch (yes I say that all the time now, yes it’s always true), especially cause I had some people in the comments last time talkin about what they thought was gonna happen, and no one /quite/ got it right, so I think it’s just gonna be really fun lol. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope everyone has a fantastic week, and on with the story!!!!

[PREVIOUS CH SUMMARY: 

In a flashback to Virgil’s past, he remembers his mentor Berith, and his two best friends Patton and Jophiel. Virgil is a Cherubim, one of the highest classes of angels, and he becomes incensed at the treatment of the “lower classes” - as does another friend of his named Lucifer. 

Then, on the Day The Angels Fell, Lucifer and the others who believed that their world was unjust went to the Throne and pled their case before an absent God. 

Berith becomes angrier than anyone’s ever seen him and attacks. When Virgil tries to stop him, Berith controls him using the power of his given name “Virael” and forces him to turn and attack his friends. When Virgil struggles to follow these orders, Berith moves to attack him, but instead kills Jophiel when the angel pushes Virgil out of the way. In retribution, Virgil kills Berith. 

Virgil’s flashback ends with Jophiel’s too-still body changing to Roman’s, still in the Anthaeum and grimacing in pain. 

Virgil totally disregards the rules he’s set in place for himself about using too much of his magic, pouring almost everything he has into Roman to try and save him. When confronted by Logan, Virgil admits to not caring about dying because he just wants Roman to live. Virgil finishes his last-ditch effort, and he’s overcome by the worst pain he’s ever felt.

And then everything disappears in a flash of light - the room, the king and queen, and Roman.] 

This nothingness, this existence he had come to call home was like fire. 

The world was blurred, orange clouds smearing into red smoke and creating the hazy world. Every so often a flash would illuminate a section of the smog, reminiscent of the cumulus thunderclouds on earth that were so loved and feared. 

But this wasn't earth. 

This was the Otherrealm. 

(Okay, yes, maybe not the most /imaginative/ of names, but it was the best he had, alright?) 

Back to the point, the Otherrealm was separate from all the other Existences. It certainly wasn't Earth. It wasn't Heaven, it wasn't Hell. It wasn't even the Void, though it was probably the most similar. It was like its own little pocket universe, tucked away from anything…and anyone else. 

He sighed inwardly - gods above, what he wouldn't do to interact with /other people/. 

It was…lonely, here in the Otherrealm. Sure, he had the Others, but…it wasn't the same. Plus, there's only so much you can do to amuse yourself for over four hundred years in a pocket universe, even when you're basically its god (though, even he had to admit, creating vast cityscapes with a simple wave of his hand never got old, especially when he knew he could always sink out and find one of the others if he ever just needed some time to /breath/). 

Speaking of -- "Leo! Xander! Stop that! You know Rogue doesn't get nearly enough rest as it is, leave him be!" 

The little imp and his big bear of a bodyguard only grinned over at him, looking more like mischievous brothers than reincarnations of one another. 

He sighed outwardly this time as the Fifth and the Third scampered off, more than likely to go drag Royce and Robin into a game of pretend. He really couldn't fault them - pretending was one of the only viable activities they truly had left. 

Well, other than waiting and hoping and /praying/ that the others, his Immortals, would find a way to get them all out. 

Of course, it wasn't that he hadn't /tried/, of course not, it was just…well, it wouldn't work. 

He shook himself slightly, casting away those thoughts. He had things to do. He had to check up on Pryce, gods know that he needed it, then he had to drag Rowan and Royal away from their art studio and actually get them to get some rest, then he had to go and force Ray out of his hidey-hole, and /then/--

Well, then the world /moved/. 

He braced himself as the ground rumbled, sending his thoughts out through the Otherrealm and searching for /what had made that noise/, forgetting about the other Incarnations for the time being. 

His eyes flew open almost as soon as he found the disruption, forgoing the "normal" route and simply sinking down to where he knew most - if not all, after that terrifying ordeal - of the others would be gathering. 

This...God, this wasn't good.

\-----------------------------------

Virgil came to with Logan shaking his shoulders and Patton tapping his face repeatedly . 

I'm okay. Guys, I'm /okay/, you can stop now, I'm fine. "Hhmmnnn…" Well, that was close enough - ooh, maybe Virgil could just go back to sleep now….

"No, c'mon Virgey, you gotta open your eyes, honey." 

Virgil managed to peel his eyes open, annoyed at the loss of sleep /yet again/, blinking reluctantly up at Logan and Patton. He groaned again, certain there was a magnificent pout on his face. 

"Come on, Virgil, try to sit up for us?" Virgil pouted a bit more at Logan's request before struggling to push himself to a seated position. 

"I feel like shit." Virgil smiled to himself as Logan snorted and Patton hid a laugh. 

"Yes," Logan began, holding out a hand to Virgil and helping him to slowly stand, "That's what will happen when you do something as /stupid/ as what you did, my dear." The Fae wasn't quite able to mask the anger and fear in his slightly-trembling voice. "To be quite truthful, I'm surprised you're alive." 

Virgil absentmindedly blinked away the spots dancing in his vision. "To be 'quite truthful', me too." He stuck his tongue out at Patton as the demon lightly punched him in the stomach. 

"You scared us so bad, Vee!" 

Virgil only laughed. 

"Unnecessary scares aside," Logan began, threading his fingers with Virgil's and hooking his other arm with Patton's, "We've very suddenly appeared somewhere very strange with no idea how to get home." He sighed heavily, "Do either of you recognize this place?" 

Virgil glanced over at Patton before studying the space around them more closely, it was big and orangey and seemed to be made entirely out of some cloud-like substance. 

The angel's heart beat just a little faster. "This...this place is like the Void." The angel could almost /feel/ the shocked and almost scared looks the others were sending him, and he hurried to explain himself. "It was a long, long time ago. Before you ever even Fell, Lo." Virgil fought not to lose himself in the memories. "There was something wrong with the Void, after...after Berith. So I was promoted to fill his place and our company went to there to try and fix it. It was...a time." 

Virgil snickered to himself, despite the fact that Logan and Patton were still fairly horrified at this apparently-new news. "We lost some good people there…but it looked a lot like this, hazy and clouded, only it wasn't...purple. It was black that shifted to gray every few feet. It...felt different, too. The Void was like a whirlpool, a deep vortex that you couldn't climb out of. This place..." Virgil began tapping the tips of his fingers together anxiously. "It's like a box with a really strong lid." 

Logan and Patton seemed to reflect on this for a moment, staring with wide eyes at this place, supposedly almost exactly like what would one day be their afterlife. 

"Lovely." Virgil couldn't help but snort at Logan's dry humor. "So, odds are, we're dead. How wonderful. This is always exactly how I thought I'd die; an explosion of unstable magic as a result of trying to save the only mortal we care about, one that sent us to some unfamiliar afterlife where everything is distinctly /not right/. This is all /fine/."

Logan's grip on Virgil's hand had progressively gotten tighter during his rant, and Virgil sped up slightly to stand in front of his Fae. "Logan. You're right." Virgil ignored Patton's harsher jab to his ribs, "You're absolutely right." He only had eyes for Logan, trying to keep the slightly-taller immortal from panicking, "We are somewhere unfamiliar. This isn't something that we ever could've foreseen. This place isn't right." Virgil ran his thumb over Logan's knuckles, "But. We're not dead. We're okay, if a little stuck, and it's all going to be /fine/." 

Virgil watched as Logan sucked in a very deep breath, able to calm himself with Virgil's help. They started onwards again. 

Their surroundings seemed to shift every few minutes, mostly this eerie, cloudy area, but every once in a while, they'd see…something. The first time it happened, they saw a glimpse of a cozy living room, one with books scattered about and a merrily roaring fire. The next, the clouds ahead parted to reveal a stunning city skyline, castle towers mingling with taller, sleeker designs against a picturesque sunset. With the third shift, it was an all-too familiar tower room, filled with supplies for spells and books scattered about.

They didn't comment on the tower room. 

Finally, after a period of too much silence and too much /noise/, Virgil huffed to himself and stopped walking, garnering the attention of Patton and Logan. "Screw this." Virgil turned to the others, unable to look them in the eyes. "This is useless. We've got to find some other way to get out of here." 

"Virgil…" Logan sighed, squeezing the angel's hand slightly, "You…you mustn't think like that. You never know what solutions could shh--" Logan trailed off for a moment, breath hitching in his throat. "Show up…." 

Virgil squinted - Logan's dark eyes were wide and it seemed like he'd just about seen a ghost. "Lo…?" 

When Patton tugged at his sleeve, Virgil turned, heart dropping at just how pale his demon had become. "Pat? What's wrong?"

Patton just shook his head, gesturing at something behind the angel. 

Virgil immediately turned, planting his feet and keeping himself between the other two and whatever Patton was so scared of - only to stop dead in his tracks. 

"No...no, this is impossible." Virgil hated how shaky his voice sounded. His chest was tight and oh, it was hard to breathe. "Who are you? /What/ are you??" 

Virgil hated how his traitorous heart leapt at the tearful smile pointed his way, "Hello, my heart." He took in the dark, curled hair, the strong arms, those /damned/ fire-eyes. "We...we've been waiting for you." 

The angel looked past the /impossible/ man to see eleven others, all varying shapes and sizes and colors, but each bearing those unreal eyes. 

With tears streaming and smile beaming, Romulus spoke again, "We've missed you all so much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!!!! Feel free to comment if you’ve got any questions (I know this ch introduces a lotta new shite lol), I will be happy to rant for four paragraphs about this world lol. Love you guys!!!! <3


	32. Ch 28: We've Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotions run high and (unsurprisingly) people worry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!!!! Oh my godddd it's good to be back!!!!!! Lemme tell ya, the only thing that kept me goin through classes this week was workin on this fic (when I was supposed to be taking notes for math or history but shhhhhh)
> 
> Oh lordy, this chapter's a little shorter than I intended but, lets be real, I've already deviated from the original plotline that I had before. Like, a lot. 
> 
> Anyways lol there's no tw/cws for this ch (unless you count crying and Emotions tm but lets be real, that's in legit every chapter I write lol). I hope y'all enjoy! As always, feel free to comment! I'm bored and lonely and love responding to them!!! Love y'all!!!
> 
> (Hey also, if I have time today I'm going to type up the first of the bits for the Extras volume lol - either that or I'll be attaching a bunch of pictures lol. If not, the first ch, at least, will be up later this week!!! :D )

/With tears streaming and smile beaming, Romulus spoke again, "We've missed you all so much."/ 

Logan felt /sick/. His head was spinning and he was having trouble breathing and his legs were weakening and sickness /had/ to be the explanation, because there was /nothing else/ that could be causing him to feel this way. He was /not/ panicking, he was /not/ "freaking out", and he most certainly was /not/ going to cry. 

"L? C'mon, you flighty fairy, chin up." Logan bit back what was absolutely /not/ a sob as he jerked his gaze up to see Ray, golden hair shining and small smile softening his gaunt features. 

(Logan was overcome for a moment with memories of meeting the lonely hermit, a small cottage, and promises of a speedy return for a small, happy gathering with the ones they both loved, then the return to a burning pasture and blood smeared across a doorstep that trailed off in the direction of a /too-still body, please no/--) 

Logan shook blinked himself out of his stupor, still feeling nauseous. Three more faces had joined Ray - Royce, Perseus, and Rowan. 

(A wide smile, laughter echoing even across a battlefield sown with destruction, that damned makeshift laboratory that thrummed with magic and a hint of desperation, experiments that went /too far too fast oh gods no/--)

(Wire-rimmed glasses that framed deep-set eyes like the brightest of rubies, freckles dotted across a kind face, quiet discussions over tea about the latest books and such, the excitement of the prospect of a new job, the horror at what humans would do to get such a job, the brokenness as Virgil just /walked away, please no don't leave us now, don't leave us too/--)

(Soft tanned skin, curly hair, wood shavings scattered across a varnished floor, quiet nights spent in front of a fireplace curled around warm bodies, the knowledge that when it all ended it was /his fault it was all Logan's fault/--) 

"Logan." The Fae jerked at Rowan's rough brogue combined with the loving touch on his cheek. "Aye, love, it's me, it's alright. Ye don't have ta hide from us, it's okay." 

He didn’t even have a chance to try to hide the tears. 

All Logan could do was collapse against them - against the ones that he'd /failed, oh, he didn't deserve them/ - and cry. 

\---------------------------

/With tears streaming and smile beaming, Romulus spoke again, "We've missed you all so much."/ 

Patton's hand slapped up to cover his mouth - not to cover a sob, you see, but to hide his sudden, incomprehensible giggles. 

A small tug on Patton's free hand startled him from his thoughts. 

"S'cuse me? S'cuse me, Mister? Whatchu cryin' for?" 

Patton glanced over…and down. There was a small boy standing there, hardly ten, with a gap-toothed grin and mischievous eyes. Patton giggled again, clutching slightly desperately at his own arm. Oh, this must be Leo. He'd come and gone before Patton or the other Immortals could meet him, caught with his brother in a freak flash-flood. 'd ended up. 

Patton’s heart throbbed - this is what all their efforts had led to, a /child/ trapped in this godforsaken place, for centuries. 

There were others as well, Patton knew, both tall, the one on Leo’s left leaner than the muscle bound giant on the child’s right. 

Patton could barely hold back his tears now. 

These two were Rogue and Xander, the tenth and the third. Rogue had died while he was still so young, finally making it in the world, yet not knowing just how badly he’d fall. Xander, meanwhile, had been killed by that thrice-damned dragon.

Patton had been there, /right there/, when they’d both died, unable to do anything but /watch/ as Rogue died of some unknown poison (it /wasn't/ unknown, Patton had been /panicking/ and couldn't find it – Rogue had died in his arms). With Xander, Patton had only watched with the others as the valiant knight rode out with his company. Something had been attacking the outskirts of some of the further villages, and Xander had assured the Immortals and his king that he'd be back before they knew it. (Well, he'd been right, it's just that no one expected him to return home in a body cart a hair's-breadth away from death.) 

Patton laughed freely again, though he couldn't quite stop the hiccupping sobs. 

And, well, when the musician and knight tugged Patton into a tight three-way-hug, the child wrapping his arms around Patton's legs as far as they could go, Patton couldn't help but fall apart. 

\---------------------------------

/With tears streaming and smile beaming, Romulus spoke again, "We've missed you all so much."/

Virgil had frozen, not even sure if he could move. He couldn't help but stare, almost as if the Incarnations would disappear if Virgil looked away. 

Directly in front of him was Romulus, smile beaming from his now-youthful face. Virgil cupped the First's cheek, brushing away the flowing tears. "You're real..." Virgil breathed, barely daring to hope, "Right? Please, /please/," Virgil was begging by now. "Tell me you're real." 

Romulus – oh, God it /was/ him, no one else would know to take Virgil's hand like that, would turn it over and kiss his palm like that. There were only two others who would know to do that to calm Virgil down, and the angel knew that they were currently sobbing into the arms of the others. 

Virgil turned his attention to the two on either side of Romulus, choking back his own tears at the sight of them. Romeo's chocolatey curls and chipped smile on Romulus' left, Royal's tanned skin and crow's feet on his right. 

"Come now, my angel-from-on-high, did you truly think we were gone for good?" Virgil bit back a sob at Romeo's voice, smooth and warm with affection. 

"Hey," Royal's quiet and calm murmur caused more tears to spring to Virgil's eyes, "It's okay, Virge. You're okay, now, we're okay." 

/Well, that's gay/. 

Virgil let himself fall apart. 

\-----------------------------

Romulus just barely held it together as Virgil, too, began to cry. Quietly, hardly making a sound but for the rustling of the fabric of his shirt. 

He could only watch, halfway to hysterics, as his Immortals broke down. 

/Oh gods above, I’m the one that’s going to need to fix this, aren't I?/ 

Romulus pressed his lips to the crown of Virgil’s head, heart breaking just a little as his Angel shuddered, holding back his sobs. 

He waited for a while longer, trying and failing to motivate himself to move and /do something/. At least, until Virgil's hiccupping cries finally slowed and stopped. Romulus shifted a little – he could barely keep himself from letting his own tears slip free when Virgil whined slightly at the movement and gripped harder at his sleeves. 

A small cough caught Romulus' attention, and the man looked up to see...everyone. Patton and Logan were standing together, huddled close, the other Incarnations surrounding them. 

"Come along, my dear," Romulus murmured, shifting reluctantly, "the others are waiting." 

Virgil shook his head, still buried in Romulus' chest, but made to stand all the same. 

Soon enough, they were all standing, somewhat awkwardly, almost waiting for someone to make the next move. 

Logan caught Romulus’ attention as he suddenly frowned and stood tall (Romulus had been telling him centuries ago to stop slouching, but had the Fae listened? Of course not), seemingly looking for something (someone). 

“Where,” Logan licked his lips and started again, trying in vain to stop the shaking of his voice, “Where is Pryce?” 

Romulus sighed, running a tired hand through his hair. “He’s…probably in our main commons.” Romulus started walking away from the others, knowing they’d follow. “Assuming you want to see him, we’ll have to take the long way. I’m not certain you can travel the same way we can, and I’d rather not risk it.” 

Virgil jogged a bit, still sniffling, so he could reach over and catch Romulus’ ever-cold hand in his own warm one, tugging on it slightly. “Wait, Rom…are we seriously going to disregard the fact that, /somehow/, we all just appeared here? With no explanation other than ‘magic’? We don’t even know where ‘here’ really is!”

Romulus squeezed Virgil’s hand, smiling tightly, “I know, dear, but we can talk more in the commons. Not only that, but…” Romulus trailed off, “I need to check back in with Pryce. I don’t know the details of what happened before he got here, but it…affected him. More than it affected the rest of us.” 

Smiling over at Virgil once more, Romulus listened to the semi-relaxed chatter from behind them. After not too long, though, Romulus reached forward with his free hand and willed a dense patch of clouds away from a reddish wood door. 

“We’re here.” 

Romulus pulled away from Virgil gently, smiling again at the anxious angel. He pushed the door open slowly, looking around for-- oh, the poor thing. 

"Pryce, there you are."


	33. Shameless self-promo

Heyo!!! So, I have no chapter to offer this weekend (It's one of the last ones, I'm not putting out anything less than perfection at this point) but!!! I do have something!!!!!! Check out the second work in this series!!!!!!! 

That's right!!! I uploaded the first of the Worldbuilding Extras!!!! It's honest to god an infodump about Roman and the other Incarnations, but there's a few uhhhh fun things hidden in there lol 

Anyways, I'll see y'all next weekend, happy Valentines day!!!!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> :) Thanks for reading!!!


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